Inuyasha's love and Kagome's pain
by AngelHeart2122
Summary: When Kagome is attacked by a demon things change and choices are made that can't be undone. Now the gang is in for the fight of there lives with new enemies in the way, and some new friends alone for the ride. They may stand a chance in this InuKag fic.
1. Poison

**Chapter 1-Poison **

            Kagome was starting to wake up and she realized just how much her head really hurt but she wasn't sure why. Every thing was blurry and she had no idea where she was or what was happening to her. Then it hit her.  She was in the past with Inuyasha and they were in the middle of a fight with one of Naraku's latest creations.  This one was very ugly - it reminded Kagome of a frog, except that it stood on two feet and had fangs that dripped some kind of green poison. Not to mention that it was about 8 feet tall. It didn't seem to know how to talk, which was a strange thing for one of Naraku's creations.

Inuyasha and the gang were fighting with the beast since they had heard of it destroying nearby towns.  Of course, the fact that the monster had a spider shaped mark on his back got their attention also. Once they found the beast, Inuyasha had started to attack right away but was surprised to discover that it was not very strong. It was, however, very fast and it managed to get by him. It bit Kagome on the hip and then threw her into a tree. Kagome had hit her head pretty hard. Inuyasha punched the demon in the face and then ran to Kagome.  He soon realized that she was fading in and out of consciousness.

"KAGOME!! Are you alright??" Inuyasha asked her.  Kagome attempted to stand up but couldn't quite seem to manage it. 

"I don't know," Kagome said while holding her head in her hands. 

Just then the Froglike youkai ran at Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha was fast, and sweeping Kagome up, maneuvered them out of the way before the beast got too close. Then Inuyasha put Kagome down and ran to finish off the ugly thing that managed to hurt '_his_' Kagome.   Inuyasha held Tetsusaiga in his hands and then used it to kill the beast. 

When it was over, Sango ran to Kagome.  "Are you alright?" she asked Kagome looking worried.  

"I don't know my head really hurts and every thing is blurry plus my hip is burning where that thing bit me." Kagome replied. 

 Sango went to look at the bite mark on Kagome's hip. "You think you guys can turn around for a second" she said to Miroku and Inuyasha who were watching a bit too closely. "And DON'T peak!" she added just to Miroku, who backed away looking hurt.

The bite mark was glowing green and was bleeding badly. It seemed to be quite deep. Sango was sure it would scar and that upset her.  She tried to stop the bleeding but nothing seemed to help.  Shippo ran over to look at the bite mark also and was surprised at how big it was. The bite mark was across the entire right side of Kagome's hip. 

"Is she going to be ok, Sango?" Shippo asked looking sad and worried. 

"I'm not sure, but it doesn't look good. I think we should take her to Kaede right away." and with that Inuyasha turned around and grabbed Kagome into his arms and ran toward Kaede's village, which was less than 10 minutes away for Inuyasha. The others followed behind him, on Kirara's back.

Inuyasha stormed into Kaede's hut and started screaming for her to help Kagome. "KAEDE! Where the hell are you wench?? I need your help!!" 

Hearing that, Kaede came out of the inner room where she had been reading and looked straight at Kagome. "What happened to her?" she asked while motioning for Inuyasha to put her down on a futon she had on the floor. Just then Sango arrived and began to tell Kaede what had happened. 

"I see.  Well - I will try some herbs and see if they can stop the poison before it spreads. Inuyasha, please wait outside. Sango, can you get me some fresh water? We need to clean this wound quickly." Sango pushed Inuyasha out of the hut and ran to get some water for Kaede. Then they set to work, trying to save Kagome. 

Inuyasha jumped up into a tree just outside the hut, and attempted to overhear what they were saying about her wounds. He was listening so hard that he didn't even notice Shippo climb the tree and sit next to him. 

"Inuyasha, will Kagome be ok?" Shippo asked, looking very cute, but with sad tears in his eyes.

"Feh. How should I know? They won't let me in to see her!" Inuyasha was obviously upset that he had no idea what was happening to Kagome. Then Shippo started to cry loudly. Inuyasha, knowing that it would upset Kagome if she were to hear him, said "STOP THAT! You want her to hear you and be more upset? She will be ok. Kagome is too stubborn to be killed by such an ugly thing."  Shippo sniffled and said, "I am sorry. You are right. I will be strong for Kagome!" And, with that said, Shippo climbed down from the tree and seated himself outside the entrance to the hut ready to help Kaede or Sango in any way. 

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"The bleeding won't stop! What kind of poison is this?" Sango asked Kaede while applying pressure to the wound, trying to halt the flow of blood from the bite mark on Kagome's hip. 

"I have no idea, but, what ever it is, the poison is preventing the wound from healing. I am not sure if Kagome can take losing much more blood." Kaede answered, gravely considering what else could be done. "The herbs I used should stop the poison from spreading any farther then it already has, but I am not sure how much that will even help." Kaede picked up a wet rag that she had been soaking in a bucket with cold water and placed it on Kagome's head. Kagome had long since passed out from the blood loss. Sango and Kaede were glad, in a way, because it meant Kagome wouldn't be feeling any pain for the moment. "She also has a fever and it is not helping things. I am not sure if she will last the night." Kaede seemed very upset and sad. 

"There has to be something that we can do for her! We can't just let her die!!" Sango said this a little too loudly. Inuyasha, listening intently outside, jumped out of the tree burst into the hut.

"Ok I want to know what the hell is happening to Kagome right now!! She is NOT going to die!" Inuyasha yelled. The intensity of his anger startled Sango.  Then she realized just how upset he was at the thought that Kagome might not survive the night. Suddenly remembering that Kagome was half naked, Sango quickly grabbed the blanket that Kagome had recently given Kaede as a gift and threw it over Kagome. 

"Inuyasha, calm down.  Your yelling isn't helping any one. There isn't much more I can do for her. We will just have to wait and see. It is all up to her body now. However, if we can't stop the bleeding, there is no way she will survive this." Kaede said this and then looked back to Kagome, who was sweating profusely from the heat of the fever, yet she was clutching the blanket to herself as though she were freezing while she slept. 

"Well then stop the fucking bleeding! What good are you if you can't even help Kagome when she needs you?!" Inuyasha yelled at Kaede, who just shook her head at him.

"The poison is somehow preventing the wound from healing. There isn't much I can do except hope that the herbs I used will stop the poison and allow her to stop bleeding before it is too late," Kaede said.  Then she turned to Sango and said "please inform the others of her condition and allow them to say their goodbyes, now, just in case." At these words, Sango ran out of the hut to Miroku, with tears in her eyes. She hugged him, and then, through her tears, told he and Shippo what Kaede had said. 

Miroku was surprised at first at the way Sango hugged him. He saw how upset she was and reassured her that everything would be all right. "Don't worry Sango. If there is a way to help her we will find it," he said very softly in her ear. She just continued to cry and held him tighter, not caring about what the others might think. 

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome's bloody body,  "You are not going to die!" was all he said before running out of the hut. He ran past Sango and Miroku so fast that all they saw was a red blur. 'There has to be SOMETHING I can do, damn it! I can't let her die!' he thought to himself while running to seek out Myouga.  Possibly he could help in some way.

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I have reposted this chapter. It is now proof read and should be better. I hope you like it.  

Thanks to Bonnie217 for proof-reading this chapter. She will also be helping with other chapters. 


	2. Inuyasha’s choice

Chapter 2- Inuyasha's choice 

I do NOT own Inuyasha or any his companions.  That said, enjoy the story. ^_^

Inuyasha ran as fast as he could. He didn't really knowing where he was going because he had no idea where Myouga was. The annoying flea found Inuyasha first. Calling from a bird, flying over Inuyasha's head, Myouga asked, "Inuyasha where is every one? Is everything ok my lord?" 

Inuyasha jumped up and grabbed the flea, shouting, "Kagome has been poisoned, and I don't know how to help her! Tell me how to save her!!!" 

"Hmmm, I would have to see her myself Inuyasha. Take me to her," was the flea's reply. Inuyasha returned to the hut at a dead run with Myouga in his hand. When he got there, Inuyasha could not believe what he saw. Kagome lay on the futon with blood all around her.  She was so pale and lifeless. For a moment he feared that he was already too late, but then Inuyasha noticed her chest rising and falling, slowly. Kagome was still breathing. He put the flea down near Kagome and saw Sango holding Kagome's hand tightly. Miroku was next to her praying for Kagome. Shippo was crying in Kaede's lap, who watched everyone else closely while holding the crying kit. 

Myouga ask what had happened and Sango told him while crying softly. Myouga was thoughtful for a moment and then asked, "Are you sure this was one of Naraku's detachments? It seems odd that it could not talk." Myouga appeared still deep in thought as Inuyasha answered him.

"IT HAD A FUCKING SPIDER ON IT'S BACK! What more do you need to hear to know it was one of his fucking detachments???" Inuyasha was furious. "Does it really matter who it was? Just tell me what to do to make her better! Who do I have to kill? What do I have to do? Tell me what to do right now or you will not live to see tomorrow!!!!" This scared Shippo and made him start crying even louder then before and he hid his head in Kaede's arms.

Myouga looked very grave and said, "You are right, Inuyasha. At the moment, knowing what that thing was won't help. Since we don't know what kind of demon it was and you already killed it, I do not know how to cure the poison. I have never seen anything like it before. However there may be something you can do. May I please talk to you alone for a moment, Inuyasha?"  Inuyasha nodded, picking up the flea and moving out of earshot of the others.

"What is it, that you had to waste time taking me out here?!" He yelled at the small flea. 

"Well Inuyasha, you _can_ help Kagome, but you won't like what you have to do. You can't just run out and kill some one this time. That is not going to help us heal her." Inuyasha still looked mad.

"Look, just tell me what to do already!! I don't care what it is. I WON'T let her die!" He shook the poor flea in his hands while yelling, but then stopped to hear Myouga's answer.

"You have to share your blood with her. Let her drink your blood. This would cause the bleeding to stop because your blood is much stronger then hers and could take care of the poison easily," Myouga said plainly, then looked at Inuyasha to see what he thought of this. 

"Share my blood? If that's what I have to do, then that's fine with me" Inuyasha went to run back into the hut when the flea yelled at him.

 "WAIT my lord! There is more to it then just giving her your blood. You have to give her a lot of your blood to help her, which will knock you out in the process. She may not even survive; it is very painful for humans.  She may not be able to handle the changes, but, since she is a miko, she should be ok. Also, once you do this, you and she will be bound to each other forever, or until one of you dies! This would make Kagome live the same life span as a hanyou. She would still be a human, of course, but she would heal faster and be stronger then most humans. In addition, her miko powers might become more powerful also. However, it means that you and Kagome can never leave each other's side for more than a few days at a time.  After that you will start to feel the pain of withdrawal from your blood, and so will she. It will get more painful by the hour after it starts; if you are not back together within 24 hours after the pain starts you will both die! Another side effect of doing this is that you will know what the other is feeling at all times. This means that if you feel sad, no matter how far apart you are she will know. Are you ready to let her know how you are feeling at all times my lord?" Myouga sounded a little worried as he said these things, but watched Inuyasha closely to see his reaction. 

Inuyasha stood there in complete shock. He really didn't mind the idea of never leaving Kagome's side for more then a few days, but would she feel the same? And was he really ready to have her know what he was really feeling at all times? Of course, if she knew how he felt, then the reverse would also be true. That sounded good, but Inuyasha just wasn't sure what to do. 'What if it doesn't work, and she dies anyway? I couldn't take that. What if I do this, and she hates me because of it? Am I ready to have that kind of a bond with her?' He sighed, but hadn't had much time to ponder his decision, when he heard Sango yelling and crying loudly. Inuyasha turned and ran back to the hut as fast as he could. 

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Sango was watching Kagome closely through her tears.  She was so scared that she would lose Kagome too. She had already lost every one else that she loved and couldn't bear for it to happen again.  Kagome was her best friend. What would she do without her?  Just then Kagome aroused and began gasping in pain, holding her side and crying.

"KAGOME!! Are you ok? Talk to me!! It's ok, Kagome I'm here. Please hang on!!!" Sango yelled, holding Kagome tightly against her. Just then Inuyasha ran into the hut and looked at Kagome who was awake and in great pain. He could hear her heart slowing down to a crawl, and knew that she could not last more than a few moments longer before she died and left him forever.

"NO KAGOME! It's going to be all right I will help you. Please let me help you." Inuyasha yelled this at her, knowing that Kagome could have no understanding of his meaning. Kagome didn't seem to care at that point either. "I can help you, but you need to drink my blood. It will hurt, but it will also help you, I promise!"

Kagome was trying very hard to breath.  Sango lowered Kagome from the bear hug she held her in, and they both looked at Inuyasha. Kagome merely nodded.  Inuyasha took that for his answer and kneeling down beside her, asked everyone else to leave them alone. Reluctantly the others all did as Inuyasha requested and left the hut. All except Myouga, of course, who explained to Inuyasha exactly what had to be done. 

Inuyasha then cut his left wrist with his claws and then held it over Kagome's mouth, which she held open for him. As his blood started to drip into her mouth, Kagome tried to turn away because it burned her.  Inuyasha pulled her face back towards him,  saying with a pained look in his eyes, "this will help; please take it." Kagome opened her mouth once more and drank the disgustingly hot liquid.  As she did this, Inuyasha noticed that he was becoming slightly dizzy, but continued giving his blood to Kagome until he heard the flea's tiny voice in the background,  "Stop Inuyasha, you can't lose much more!" Inuyasha then stopped, bandaging his wrist quickly.  He looked at Kagome who was lying under the blanket now covered with blood. The yellow blanket was ruined but no one seemed to care. 

Kagome began to toss and turn.  She looked as if she was in a great deal of pain, even more than before, if that was possible. Inuyasha felt badly, but knew it had to be this way if Kagome was to live. Suddenly Kagome screamed a blood-curdling scream that scared Inuyasha. Kagome opened her eyes widely, sitting up quickly, which caused the blanket to fall off, revealing that the bottom half of her was completely naked. Then she held her side. While Inuyasha watched, her hip stopped bleeding and even started to heal a bit. He looked at her closely.  Her eyes seemed to change from their normal beautiful gray color to a golden color that matched his briefly, and then her eye color returned to normal, but a slightly lighter shad than before. She lay back down and seemed to fall deeply asleep.

"You will be alright now Kagome," he said and then passed out from the blood loss. Just then the whole group ran in, wanting to know why Kagome was screaming.  When they saw Inuyasha passed out on top of a now unconscious Kagome, Sango quickly grabbed the blanket again and threw it on top of Kagome, then pulled Inuyasha off Kagome and lay him down next to her. 

"Will he be ok?" Sango asked Myouga who was still in the room with Inu and Kagome. 

"Yes he is fine. He just lost a lot of blood, and he needs to sleep." He looked at Kagome closely.

"What about Kagome? Will she be ok now?" Sango asked looking at Kagome's sleeping form. 

"Well the bleeding has stopped but the effects of Inuyasha blood in Kagome may yet be a problem for her. She is strong - she should be fine. We will have to wait and see in the morning." Myouga jumped onto Shippo's shoulder and watched everyone, as they seemed to calm down a bit. 

"Till morning then." Miroku said softly and started to pray over Kagome again.

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I am reposting thing chapter because it was proof read by Bonnie217. I hope it is better then before since I made a lot of mistakes the first time. ^_^  


	3. Rude awakenings

Chapter 3 – Rude awakenings 

Hey everyone, thanks for all the great reviews that I have been getting. I am glad you all seem to like this story. 

I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of his companions. Enjoy! 

It was a long night, but Sango and Miroku never left Kagome's side. Although Kagome's fever was greatly reduced, she suddenly awoke, screaming in pain, holding her head in her hands. When asked what was wrong, Kagome said that everything burned, and she was very pale from the blood she lost earlier that day.  Then as quickly as she awoke, Kagome would again lose consciousness. Inuyasha never stirred from his sleeping position next to Kagome. 

Kagome, however, aroused in pain, then lapsed back into unconsciousness several times during the night.  Sango was afraid that Inuyasha's blood was too much for her, and his efforts to save her might have been in vain. Myouga had informed everyone after the two had passed out exactly what Inuyasha did to Kagome and what it would mean for them both. They were all shocked that Inuyasha would do such a thing for Kagome but they wondered how Kagome would react to the situation. Inuyasha had done what he had to do to keep Kagome alive.  They all felt that that should count for something, right? 

Sango yawned and Miroku put his arm around her to reassure her that everything would be all right. He had been the perfect gentleman that night, but she wondered how long that would last. "Maybe you should get some rest. I will watch Kagome." Miroku said in a soft voice. 

"No. I am fine. I want to be awake when she gets up. I need to know she is ok." Sango sounded very upset, so Miroku let her be.  Everyone was sleeping but Sango and Miroku when Inuyasha began to rouse.  

It was early morning, and Inuyasha woke up slightly when the sun hit him in the eyes from the window in the room. He opened his eyes slowly, and realized that he felt a little dizzy.  He wasn't sure what was going on at first. Then, he remembered in a rush, what had taken place the night before and he quickly sat up. He startled Sango and Miroku when he did this and they moved back a little from where they had been sitting. 

"KAGOME! Where is she???" Inuyasha yelled at his somewhat befuddled friends.

"She is right next to you." Miroku said quietly, then pointed to a still sleeping Kagome. "Be still. Kagome needs her rest. She awoke many times last night in pain, saying that she felt as if her whole body were burning. She would cry out in pain and then fall back asleep as if nothing had happened." Miroku looked at a very worried hanyou and put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder and said, "I think she is ok now though; she hasn't awoken for a few hours, and she doesn't seem to be in pain any more." That seemed to make Inuyasha feel a little better, but he still stared at Kagome as if she would die if he weren't by her side. 

As Kagome started to wake up, she heard every one talking and it seemed very loud to her. She also noticed that there was an overwhelming smell of blood all over her. She knew it was her blood, but before she could think about it for long, she had a very strange feeling. At first she couldn't place it. She couldn't decide what it felt like because it wasn't a normal feeling.  For some reason, she felt extremely scared and worried for some one, but for whom? And why? Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw a very scared and worried Inuyasha staring at her. Then it occurred to Kagome that these were Inuyasha's feelings, not her own!!! "How could I be feeling his emotions? What's going on?" she wondered. Kagome tried to sit up, but her head still hurt from hitting the tree the day before. 

"Don't sit up yet, just lie there. You are still weak from losing all that blood yesterday." Inuyasha was looking into Kagome's eyes as he said this, and, suddenly, he felt VERY confused.  Inuyasha felt as if he were in pain, but he knew he wasn't. There was nothing wrong with him.  The pain didn't feel familiar to him.  It was if someone else were confused and in pain.  Then he remembered what Myouga had told him about Inuyasha and Kagome being able to feel each other's emotions following the blood transference. "Oh god, if I know what she is feeling, then she must know what I am feeling. Knowing that I am worried about her is probably making her more upset. How is she going to take this? Oh, I am going to get it for this, I know it."

"How are you feeling Kagome? Are you all right?" Sango asked with tears still in her eyes. 

"I am not sure. What is happening to me? I….I know what you are feeling Inuyasha. Why do I know what you are feeling?" Kagome said this in a plaintive voice, sounding more worried than scared. 

"It's one side effect of the blood Inuyasha gave you." Miroku told her when he saw how upset Inuyasha was getting. "He knows what you are feeling also." He watched Kagome open her eyes wide at this and then sit up despite the pain she was still in. 

"What other side effects will there be??? And why in hell does Inuyasha feel so damn guilty all of a sudden???!!" She yelled this and woke up the others that were still sleeping. 

"KAGOME!!! YOU ARE ALRIGHT!!" Shippo jumped onto Kagome and hugged her tight. "You scared me sooo much! Don't do that again!" He was crying now while he held her with all his might.

Kagome's expression lightened at the sight of the young fox in her arms and she scratched his head. "I am sorry Shippo. I will try my best to not let it happen again." She smiled at Shippo who now stopped crying and smiled back at her. "Why don't you go outside to play with Kirara for a while. I need to talk to Inuyasha."  He nodded to her and ran outside with Kirara following closely behind him. "If you need me, just let me know." he said with a smile on his face, standing immediately outside the hut, and then with a whisk of his tail, he was gone. 

"Ok. so you are saying that Inuyasha and I will always know what the other is feeling?" Kagome asked once the fox was gone. 

Myouga jumped onto Inuyasha and looked at them both gravely, before starting to speak. "You will feel each other's strong emotions.Not the little things. However there is more to it than that. You and Inuyasha now share the same blood, or at least part of it, and that means that you will be experiencing some changes. You will now be able to live as long as a hanyou, and you will be stronger too. Even your Miko powers should be stronger. I am not sure how much stronger you will get, or the extent of the hanyou traits you will receive; it depends on how much your body can handle. I am interested to see what you will be able to do" Myouga told Kagome and then jumped onto her and tried to suck some of her blood. She quickly smacked him and let him fall to the floor. "That wasn't nice" said the flat form on the ground. 

Inuyasha was watching Kagome closely.  She went through many different emotions and he realized that none of them were happy ones. She was scared and worried and then confused again. She was even a little mad for about a second. "Great, I know what she is feeling, but what I really want to know right now is what is she thinking?!' Inuyasha thought to himself.

Kagome was so wrapped up in her own thoughts and feelings that she didn't notice Inuyasha's. That was probably a good thing, as he was upset and that wasn't going to help her right then. "I am going to live as long as Inuyasha?! What about my family? That means they will all die long before I do! And Sango and Miroku also would die while I lived on!" She started to cry and Inuyasha was hit with such a strong feeling of sadness coming from Kagome that it broke his heart. 

"I am sorry. but I didn't know what else to do! Would you rather have died? Then your family would never have seen _you _again!" Inuyasha yelled this, trying his best to sound angry, but Kagome looked at him strangely and he knew that she could feel his hurt instead of the anger he was trying to show. "Damn, I knew this was a bad idea, but I had to save her. Please forgive me Kagome,' he thought to himself. 

"No, you are right Inuyasha. I am sorry. I just have to get used to the idea of it I guess. It might be nice to live for so long, at least I would get to look young for a long time right?" Kagome gave them a weak giggle. "Besides if I am stronger and faster then I could be more help in finding the shards right?" She said this in a fake happy voice and then gave a big false smile while trying to reassure them. "Just give me time to get used to this." 

Inuyasha nodded, and Sango, looking at Kagome, realized that she might want a bath. Kagome was covered with blood after all. "Kagome would you like me to help you to the spring so you can clean up?"

Kagome looked down at the once yellow blanket she held over her and saw just how much blood she had really lost. 'There is no way I could have lived through this without Inuyasha's blood. He saved my life. It HAD to be a hard choice to make for someone who never lets anyone see what he is feeling. I should be more greatful to him. Maybe now I can find out how he really feels,' she thought.  Aloud, she said, "Yes please. Thank you for taking care of me last night, Sango. I am sorry that I worried you so much."

"Don't apologize it wasn't your fault. I will go get you a new set of clothes from your bag and when I come back I expect that you three boys will be outside so Kagome can put something on for the walk to the spring." Upon saying this, Sango arose and fetched Kagome some new clothes, then pushed a very unhappy Inuyasha out of the hut, followed by an equally unhappy onk with Myouga on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you wont need our help, Sango? She is still so weak. I could carry her to the spring and help her into the water" Miroku said just before a boomerang hit him in the head. "Ouch, I was just trying to help." But before he could defend himself further, Sango pushed him the rest of the way out of the hut. "Women!" was all he said to this. 

"Come on Kagome, let's get you cleaned up. You look awful." Sango said and then smiled and reached her hand out to help Kagome up. Kagome decided that she should just keep the blanket wrapped around her bottom half while they went to the spring, since it wasn't too far away.  She didn't want to get blood on her clean cloths. Her skirt had been destroyed from the bite the demon had given her, so she couldn't wear that. She stood up carefully with Sango's help, and they walked together slowly to the spring. Kagome was so happy to be able to take a bath that she couldn't wait to get in. As soon as she got into the water, she began to look much better. "This is just what I need to clear my head right now," Kagome said and then smiled. She was feeling much better really and her head didn't hurt any more. Her hip had not yet healed, but it was getting better already and it only hurt a bit. 

"Let me take a look at the bite mark, Kagome." Kagome moved so that Sango could check on her wound. "It's looking much better, but it will take a while to heal completely. I am afraid it will scar though." Sango looked a little upset at the thought that Kagome would have such a big scar on her hip for the rest of her life.  "Maybe Kaede can make another herb poultice to reduce the scarring."

"It's ok, Sango.  At least I am alive, right?" Kagome smiled at her long time friend. "How long has it been now Sango? Almost 2 years? I am glad that I have a friend like you with me. I don't know what I would do without you." They gave each other a hug. 

"I was so worried that I would lose you Kagome!" Sango started to cry again. "Thank god you are alright! I could never have gotten through all this without you." 

Kagome smiled at her and they hugged again "Don't worry.  Everything will be all right. You know Inuyasha is always there to save me some how." They both laughed a little, and then they both went back to bathing themselves. Kagome was tired but it felt good to be clean, and she was happy to have Sango with her. The smell of the blood was so strong she couldn't bear it, and it did seem as though all the sounds around her were just a little bit louder then they had once been 'Could these be side effects of Inuyasha's blood? Maybe it's not so bad.' she thought to herself. 

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Outside of the hut Inuyasha and Miroku were talking with Myouga. "Why didn't you tell her about all the side effects of giving her Inuyasha's blood, Myouga?" Miroku asked curiously. 

"I thought it would be best if Inuyasha tells her about that, besides she has had enough for one day. I am not sure if she could handle hearing about the rest yet." Myouga answered plainly with his arms crossed over his chest and his head down.

"When do you plan to tell her, Inuyasha? You can't keep this from her, you know. She will find out the next time she wants to go home." Miroku watched Inuyasha with interest. Inuyasha seemed to be far away in thought. "Inuyasha are you listening to me??" Miroku raised his voice just a little as he spoke, but it was more than enough to get Inuyasha's attention.

"Yeah, I hear you! How could I not with you yelling at me?" Inuyasha still wasn't looking at Miroku, being more interested in looking in the direction the girls had gone, even though they were too far away for him to be able to hear them. 

"Is something wrong Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, sounding concerned.

"Well, I'm not sure, to tell you the truth. I can feel Kagome and right now she is both happy and sad at the same time, in addition to feeling something else.  I can't place the emotion, and it's driving me nuts! How can you be sad and happy at the same time????" he demanded an answer that he didn't expect to get. 

Miroku laughed and put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "That's women for you. Even when you know exactly what they are feeling you will never under stand them!"

Inuyasha looked confused "Feh! That's great, just great! Why can't they just make up there minds?! You are either happy or sad. NOT both!" Inuyasha sighed and then just kept looking toward the spring and waiting for the girls to come back.  This was going to be a long day.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

How will Kagome take it when she finds out that she can't live more then a few days without Inuyasha with her? Find out in Chapter 4!  

Well that was chapter 3. I hope you liked it. I will try and update again tomorrow if I can. ^_^


	4. The truth

**Chapter 4-The truth **  
  


I do NOT own Inuyasha but it would be cool. ^_^

            It had been a little over a week since Kagome had been bitten by the ugly demon, and in that time she tried very hard to get used to knowing what Inuyasha was feeling. It was not an easy task, since he always tried his very best to hide everything he was feeling, and that wasn't helping matters. She still knew how he felt, but all other feelings were overshadowed by the extreme feeling of worry. Why Inuyasha was so worried every time he saw her, Kagome wasn't certain, yet she knew he was keeping something from her and she was determined to find out what it was. She just HAD to get him alone to talk. However, that wasn't an easy thing these days, because he was avoiding her. In addition to that, Kagome was having trouble getting used to her other new gifts. She was stronger then before and found herself breaking things because she didn't yet realize her own strength. She could smell things so much more clearly than before, and her hearing was better too. Every thing seemed so loud to her, but her hearing and other senses were still not nearly as strong as Inuyasha's abilities.  Kagome thought that it must drive him crazy, but he didn't seem to mind having everything smell so strongly and be so loud. At least he had the advantage of having these gifts from birth. Kagome found these senses overpowering.

"How are you feeling today Kagome?" Miroku asked with a smile on his face. Kagome had been sitting outside Kaede's hut under a tree. She had spent most of her time in the last week there while recovering. It was early afternoon and they were getting ready for lunch. 

"I am feeling much better now. The bite has almost completely healed." She gave him a warm smile "Kaede thinks I will be able to continue our search for the last Shikon shard in another day or two." After saying this, Kagome indicated that she would like Miroku to help her to her feet. Then she walked toward the fire where Sango was cooking lunch. "Where is Inuyasha?" Kagome asked when she noticed him missing from their group.

"Oh, he's up in a tree somewhere. He will be back as soon as he smells Ramen." Sango answered with a bright smile. 

"He's never around anymore. I haven't gotten to say more than three words to him since I started to get better." Kagome sighed, looking sad. Inuyasha showed up immediately.

"What's wrong??" he asked Kagome, even before saying hello to anyone. He looked at her worriedly, as if she would break if he said the wrong thing.

"What are you talking about, Inuyasha? Nothing is wrong, except for the fact that you are never anywhere to be found!" Kagome was annoyed that Inuyasha only returned because she was feeling sad. Kagome pouted and looked at Inuyasha who again seemed to be feeling worried about something.

"I just want to get moving again! We have been sitting around for a week now! There is still one more shard to get and we have to find it before Naraku does!!"  Inuyasha was lying, of course, but he hoped that his emotions wouldn't give that away.

He was staying away from Kagome because he couldn't bring himself to tell her that she could never go back to her own time.  Kagome could never live the normal life she wanted, unless he was with her most of the time. He was so worried that she would never speak to him again for this. If he had to be with her for the rest of his very long life, Inuyasha didn't want her to hate him!

"You are lying! You are keeping something from me. I know it! Why can't you just talk to me already????" Kagome let a tear run down her cheek as she shouted at Inuyasha. She was angry and hurt and sad all at once, and that was effecting Inuyasha as well.

"Wait, don't cry! I am sorry! Please don't cry," he said frantically, holding his arms out in front of himself as if she were going to hit him. 

"I AM NOT CRYING!" Kagome said as more tears fell. Then out of nowhere, before Inuyasha got a chance to Kagome that he knew she was lying to him, Kagome spun around and looked off into nowhere. "Jewel Shards. Two of them and they are coming towards us fast."

Inuyasha sniffed the air and looked unhappy. Kagome aware that Inuyasha was angry, turned around and looked back at him.  Inuyasha just said "Kouga!" Then he stood in front of Kagome as if to block her from all oncoming visitors. 

Kouga appeared as a blur. Inuyasha was now on the ground, Kouga having pushed him out of the way so he could hold Kagome's hands. "Kagome. It has been a long time. How are y…." He stopped there and started to sniff her more closely. "Kagome? Why do you smell like dog boy??" he asked her and then gave Inuyasha a dirty look "What have you done to MY woman??!?!" Kouga yelled at Inuyasha, who rose, then removed Kouga's hands from Kagome's and stood in front of her again. 

"Inuyasha had to give Kagome some of his blood to keep her alive after some new detachment of Naraku's poisoned her," Miroku said plainly. 

"It's NONE of his damn business what I do! She is NOT his woman!!!!" Inuyasha yelled at Miroku, then looked back at Kouga and growled.

"You gave her your blood?!?!" Kouga growled back at Inuyasha. "Now what am I suppose to do?? I don't want dog boy around MY woman for the rest of his life!! At least now you will live much longer, Kagome, so I guess we could work around your having to see dog crap over there every couple of days. As long as _I_ don't have to see him." Kouga sighed, then turned to a now very confused Kagome.

"WHAT????????? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?????" Kagome was now screaming. She didn't know what was going on. 'Why would I have to see Inuyasha every few days? And why was he still calling me _his _woman??' she thought to herself.

Inuyasha quickly stepped back from the now fuming Kagome. Her emotions were so strong at the moment that he couldn't take it. She was feeling VERY angry and confused, in addition to so many other things, Inuyasha just couldn't separate them all.  However, the principal feeling was anger and that scared him. "Um….I….well…." he sputtered, before she yelled.

"SIT!!!!!!"  Kagome stood over a very flattened Inuyasha and said "YOU BETTER BE SCARED!" She had been looking at Inuyasha after hearing what Kouga told her and got a feeling of fear coming from him, which only intensified her anger. "Will someone please tell me what's going on???" she yelled at the rest of her companions who looked worried and a little guilty.

Miroku was the first to try and explain things to Kagome.  This might not have been a good idea. "Well you see Kagome, now that you and Inuyasha share the same blood you cannot go for more then a few days without each other near by. The blood goes through some kind of withdrawal, but I am not sure why exactly.  If you are apart for longer than three days you will both start to have a lot of pain, burning I would think. If you are not back together within 24 hours after the pain starts, you will both die." He said this with a serious look and a frown on his face. 

Kagome gave him a death glare. "YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS?????? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME???!!!" she grabbed Miroku's hair and pulled it hard towards her face so that they were nose to nose "Who else knew about this?" she yelled in his face, and then let go, causing him to fall to the ground. Kagome then looked at the rest of her so-called friends.

"We all did" Sango said, her head drooping in shame. "We thought it would be best for Inuyasha to tell you, but he kept saying that you weren't ready to hear it yet. I am so sorry. PLEASE don't be mad!" Sango looked back up at Kagome, with tears in her eyes. Kagome just sighed and turned her back to them all. 

"Wait a second. You mean you didn't know?" Kouga said and then walked up to Inuyasha's face and then looked back at the very upset group. "How could you not tell her? You did this to her and didn't tell her what it would mean?" he yelled, looking very angry.

"Shut the hell up asshole! You have no idea what happened! I didn't HAVE a choice! It was either give her my blood or let her die! There was no time to tell her or ask whether she could agree to the results. If I waited any longer she would already have been dead!" Inuyasha was trying to defend himself, even though he was mad at himself for not telling her before Kouga did. 'I knew I should have told her. Shit! Now she is definitely going to hate me!'  

"Well, maybe if you were taking better care of her, she wouldn't have had to worry about dying without your blood!" Kouga yelled at Inuyasha, who looked as if he were about to kill him.  A very angry Kagome stopped him.

Kagome had had enough. She moved between the two of them and pushed them both aside, "THAT'S IT!!! I AM GOING HOME!!!"  She yelled and then started to walk toward the well.

"WAIT! Didn't you hear what Miroku JUST told you??? You can't leave! You have to stay by me!" Inuyasha screamed at the girl who was already making serious strides towards home.

Kagome turned around. "Don't worry. I will be back, and when I am, I hope that you will not be _too_ close by! I don't want to talk to you ever again! I can't believe you did this to me! Why couldn't you just tell me?!" Then she ran in the direction of the well as fast as she could, making surprising headway. Inuyasha had to run hard to catch up with her. He couldn't believe how fast she could move now, but he was still considerably faster.

"Wait STOP! You can't leave like this! Please….I am sorry. I didn't know how to tell you. I panicked. Don't go." Inuyasha was scared, seriously scared for the first time in his life. If Kagome hated him, he couldn't go on. He was afraid she would reject him. 

Kagome stopped dead in her tracks when she felt fear coming from Inuyasha. He was scared. Scared she would hate him, yes, but there was some other emotion there as well, and that's what really got her attention. He was feeling heartbroken. It hurt her to feel this.  Kagome turned around and looked straight into his beautiful golden eyes. That's when she got the true feeling that he had been trying to hide all along. It was LOVE! 'Oh my god! He….he…loves me?!?!' "Inuyasha…." She started to talk, but stopped when she saw him come closer. She couldn't breathe. She was lost in his eyes, at that moment she would have done anything for him if only he would just tell her that he loved her. 'I would give him everything, all of me if he will just say it! Please say it! I know you feel it. Please…' Her mind was screaming but she said nothing.

Inuyasha moved closer to Kagome until he was right next to her. "Kagome," he said in a soft voice that made Kagome melt. He could not only feel but also see the love she had for him. He wanted to say something to her. He wanted to scream, "I love you" and be damned to who heard or what would happen, but for Inuyasha actions always spoke louder than words. He moved toward Kagome slowly, so slowly in fact, that it was almost painful. He waited for a sign, any sign that she wanted him to pull away, but Kagome moved closer to him as well. "Kagome..I….I…" He stopped there and kissed Kagome ever so gently at first.  Then it became an all consuming kiss that neither wanted to ever stop. Kagome felt such passion at that moment that she went weak in the knees, and Inuyasha had to put his arms around her just to keep her from falling. This action only deepened the kiss further. They were lost in each other for the first time and they didn't want it to end. Inuyasha held Kagome closer to him so that she was right against his chest, and she moved one hand to his back and the other to his chest. It felt so good to be so close him. 

Just then they heard a voice calling out. As it got closer, they could tell it was Shippo headed for them. They quickly released each other, even though Kagome was still weak in the knees. Shippo ran up to Kagome and jumped into her arms. "Wait Kagome! Please don't be mad at us.  It was Inuyasha's fault for not telling you! Please don't go home because _he_ was being a jerk! You are still hurt, you need to stay here!!" Shippo cried hugging Kagome tightly. 

Kagome looked briefly at Inuyasha, receivingthe strong emotion of anger from him, and understood why completely. They had been so close to admitting their true feelings for each other, and then Shippo came, but it wasn't his fault. He didn't understand what he'd interrupted. "Its ok, Shippo. I am just going for the night. I need to get new clothes since most of mine were destroyed. I need to see my family also. I'm not mad at you. I just wish that someone had told me sooner. I will be back in the morning." She kissed his head and then put him down. She looked at Inuyasha who looked as if he wanted to kill the poor child. "Inuyasha, please calm down. He didn't do anything wrong. I will be back tomorrow and we can talk then." Kagome gave them both a weak smile and headed toward the well again with both Inuyasha and Shippo right behind her.

When they got to the well Kagome stopped and looked right into Inuyasha's beautiful eyes. "I have a lot to think about Inuyasha, but I am no longer mad at you.  You did what you had to do to save my life. I just wish you could have been honest with me and told me everything. You had no right keeping it from me.  You know it's not such a terrible thing never being able to leave you. This is going to change everything and I will have to get used to that." She walked toward him wanting to kiss him again instead of leaving, but Shippo was still there, so she stopped and gave Inuyasha a quick hug and then picked up Shippo. "Now you be good while I am gone. And don't make Inuyasha too mad. Ok?" He nodded to her. Kagome put him down and then looked at Inuyasha one last time and sighed. "I will see you soon, Inuyasha" Kagome's soft voice was the most amazing thing he had ever heard. He wanted to stop her and kiss her again or at least tell her how he really felt, but Inuyasha could feel the love she was feeling, and he knew she must be able to feel it from him as well; that would just have to be enough for now. He nodded to her and she jumped into the well and was gone in an instant. 

Inuyasha stood over the well and looked into as if he thought she might somehow still be there even though he knew she wasn't.  Then he turned around and looked at Shippo. "You're dead kid!!" he said, then ran after the screaming Fox child. 

"WHAT DID I DO???" Shippo called over his shoulder, running for his life.

'Please come back soon Kagome. I need to know what you think about all this. And about me,' Inuyasha thought to himself as he chased Shippo.

* * *

  


Well that's it for now. I hope you liked it. 

Will Inuyasha tell Kagome how he really feels? Will she be happy about all this? What will her mother say??

This chapter has been reposted after being proof read by Bonnie217! I hope it's better then before. 


	5. A long night

Chapter 5-A long night 

I do NOT own Inuyasha. That said, I am glad that I have gotten so many good reviews thanks everyone. ^_^ 

            Kagome climbed out of the well in her own time, looked around the well house, then sighed. Everything was quiet. Kagome was still thinking about the kiss that she and Inuyasha shared just before she returned to her time. She began to blush but she tried to clear her head before leaving the well house to seek her mother.  Kagome wanted to tell her everything that happened, well nearly everything anyway. Shutting the well house door behind her, Kagome looked toward the main house to see Souta talking with her grandfather. Souta looked very unhappy, backing away slowly, eager to escape as quickly as possible. 

"Hey guys, what are you doing?" Kagome asked her younger brother and grandfather.

"Hey KAGOME! You are back!" Souta had a smile on his face that could only mean one thing. "Well Grandpa is telling me the history of the god tree….again" Souta said sadly, his smile fading. "I haven't seen you in a while.  How is everything in the Feudal Era?" he asked Kagome, hoping she would save him from their grandfather. 

"Oh well, it's a long story. Why don't you come with me, and I will tell you all about it." Kagome smiled, knowing exactly what Souta wanted her to do. They both ran into the house.

"WAIT I am not done telling you the history of the god tree!!" Grandpa called after them, but they were already gone. "Oh well." he said, then went to find something else to occupy his time. 

"Thanks sis. I didn't think I could take it much longer. He is always going on and on about that stuff. He forgets that he already told me!" Souta looked at Kagome who was now laughing a bit.

"I know exactly what you mean." Kagome smiled at her little brother and patted him on the head.

"Yeah but at least _you_ get to go to the past all the time. _You_ don't have to hear it any more! _You_ are so lucky!" Souta replied. 

"You know I wish my life was still as simple as yours. It's not so bad listening to Grandpa from time to time." Kagome said looking a little sad. "At least you don't have to worry about crazy demons trying to kill you all the time."

"I would take that ANY day over sitting here with Grandpa while he tells me another of the same old stories I've heard a million times! Besides you are lucky! You get to have all kinds of cool adventures! You do what everyone dreams of. PLUS you don't have to worry about the crazy demons because you have Inuyasha there to save you!" As Souta said this, he looked proud, and when he said Inuyasha's name Souta grinned from ear to ear.

'He really does think Inuyasha is the greatest man to ever live, doesn't he? If only he knew him the way I do!' Kagome thought to herself and then giggled a little "I guess you're right. It's not so bad there. I have friends and I do have fun with Inuyasha when he isn't being a jerk." Kagome smiled. And then started to think about the kiss again. 

Souta looked at his sister who now looked as if she were a million miles away in thought. "Well I am going to go play video games. Mom is in the kitchen. See ya later!" Souta smiled at Kagome and then ran up the stairs to his room.

Kagome was brought back from her pleasant memory with the reality that she now had to tell her mother what happened to her. As she walked to the kitchen, Kagome paused for a minute. She could feel Inuyasha and he was very, very angry. 'I guess even though we are 500 hundred years apart, I can still tell what he is feeling. Probably he returned to Kaede's and Kouga was still there.' She sighed, then continued her walk to the kitchen, where was hit with the wonderful smells of dinner. 'Thank god I am home. I've missed Mom's food so much!' she thought, as she got closer. The food smelled even better then normal with her new heightened senses. She smiled and went into the kitchen to see her mother. 

"Kagome you are home. I am so glad to see you. You have been gone for a long time." Her mother said with a big smile on her face, giving Kagome a hug. "Can I get you anything? I can run a bath for you if you like." 

Kagome nodded her head and said, "A bath would be wonderful. Mom. Thanks. When I am done, I need to talk to you about something important." Her mother gave her a smile and a nod, then ran to start the bath water. 

* * *

  


Meanwhile back in Inuyasha's time……. 

"GET BACK HERE SHIPPO!!" Inuyasha yelled as he ran after Shippo. 

"AHHHH!!!! HELP ME!!" Shippo yelled as he ran back to Kaede's, jumping into Sango's arms, hoping she would save him from the crazy Inuyasha.

"What's going on? Where is Kagome?" Sango asked Shippo who was shaking in her arms. 

"She is home and she will be back tomorrow. Now hand over the brat! He is going to die!" Inuyasha yelled but Sango wouldn't let go "FINE! Don't hand him over!"  Inuyasha yelled, then hit Shippo on the head as hard as he could. Inuyasha had a big grin on his face when Shippo started to cry loudly.

"That wasn't very nice, Inuyasha. May I ask what he did?" Miroku asked in a calm voice. 

"It's none of your damn business Monk!" Inuyasha looked mad but not nearly as mad as when he realized that Kouga was still there. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE!!!" Inuyasha screamed at the top of his lungs. 

"I am here to make sure MY woman is alright. I guess I will just have to wait here until she gets back in the morning." Kouga didn't look at all intimidated by the fuming hanyou in front of him. 

"You will not live to see tomorrow if you don't get the fuck out of my sight RIGHT NOW!! Inuyasha yelled the last two words VERY loudly. Kouga cringed a little, but didn't move nor did he look as if he were going to. 

"Look dog crap! I will do what I want to! If you want me to leave, you will have to make me!" Kouga was yelling also and they were now face to face looking extremely angry. They were both growling and were about to fight when Miroku stepped in between them.

"You both need to calm down. Inuyasha, Kagome can still feel your emotions even though she is in her time, can't she?" Inuyasha nodded his answer to the upset looking monk. "Well then she is probably worried that we are in the middle of a fight or something considering how angry you are right now. You wouldn't want to upset her when she is already in a fragile state, now would you?" Miroku looked at Inuyasha and then at Kouga, who seemed to understand and backed away a bit.

"He is right. I don't want Kagome more upset then she already is. I will leave _for now _but I will be back!" Before any one even had time to say anything else to Kouga, he disappeared in a blur. 

"Well at least he is gone for now." Sango sighed. "But what do we do when he comes back? It will only make Kagome even more angry if he is here to bother her when she gets back." Sango looked at Inuyasha, who seemed to be trying very hard to suppress his anger, and then to Miroku who seemed to be thinking. "Well I guess we will worry about that in the morning," she said and then walked back to the fire with Shippo still in her arms. She set Shippo down, then knelt down and sat on her legs, before taking some food. She gave Shippo some food as well, and he smiled at her. 'I wonder what he did to make Inuyasha that mad' she thought to herself as he looked at Shippo who already had a big bump on his head. 'Better not ask. He seems to be in a bad enough mood already.' She sighed and continued to eat her Ramen.

Inuyasha had finally gotten his anger under control when he saw Miroku sit down next to Sango. Sango watched him closely waiting for what she knew was coming. Inuyasha sighed when Miroku did just what Sango had expected, putting his hand on her butt. She quickly smacked him so hard that you could see the bright red hand print on his face. "What? It's not my fault! My hands just have a mind of their own! It must be this darn curse!" said Miroku assuming his most innocent looking face only to receive a glare from Sango. 

"Right! And I am really a man!" Sango yelled at Miroku and giggled at the look he gave her. It was a fake hurt look and it was funny. 

"YOU ARE?" Miroku yelled only to be hit on the head by Sango's boomerang. "Ok, ok I get the point. Don't hurt me!" He said, holding up his hands up to cover his face. 

Inuyasha just turned away from them and jumped up into a tall tree near by. "What's his problem?" Shippo asked Sango and Miroku. They both just shrugged and started to eat again. 

Inuyasha looked down on them and then let his mind wander back to Kagome. He wasn't receiving much emotion from her other than a little happiness and some confusion. Beyond that she didn't seem to be feeling much of any thing. He sighed. 'I hope she isn't still mad at me. What will I say to her when she gets back?' Inuyasha was starting to get worried again. He lay back against the tree and tried to relax, but his thoughts kept returning to Kagome and the kiss they'd shared. He wanted to kiss her again, but wasn't sure if she would want him to. 'She still might not want anything to do with me, so I don't think she is going to want to kiss me. But what if she does?' he thought to himself. The possibility of Kagome loving him and wanting to be always by his side made him happy, so he decided that he should just go to bed to make the time pass quicker. He fell asleep quickly, thinking about Kagome, and what it would be like to be with her forever. For the first time in a long time he was happy and Inuyasha was going to do his best to keep it that way. 

* * *

  


Back in Kagome's time…….

Kagome climbed out of the bathtub and went into her room to get dressed. She was towel drying her hair and thinking about Inuyasha. He seemed to have calmed down a bit but was worried. 'I wonder what's going on in the past.' Kagome thought and sighed. When she finished getting dressed, she removed the towel from her fairly dry hair and began to brush it. 'I still can't believe Inuyasha kissed me. Does this mean he wants to be with me? I know I felt love coming from him, but what kind of love? Does he love me as a friend or something more?' Kagome was confused again, and didn't want to think about it anymore, but somehow her thoughts always returned to Inuyasha. She was brought out of her reverie by a knock on her door. "Come in," she said with a smile on her face.

"Kagome, you wanted to talk to me about some thing?" Her mother sat down on the bed and motioned for her daughter to join her. 

"Yeah I did. I have to tell you something very important. Something happened while I was in the past…" Kagome began to tell her mother but was cut off. 

"Are you and Inuyasha going to get married?!?" Her mother smiled happily and looked at a shocked Kagome.

"NO! Why would you think that? We aren't even dating! And I am not even 17 yet!" Kagome said to her mother who looked less happy but not upset in any way.

"Well I know you both love each other and you will be 17 soon.  That is more then old enough to be married in the Feudal Era," she told her daughter. 

"Why do you think we love each other?? Has he said any thing to you?" Kagome looked surprised that her Mom would think such a thing.

"Kagome, I am your mother and I have known for a long time you loved Inuyasha. It took a little longer to see that he loves you. It is obvious now though that he loves you very much. He may be a bit shy about it, but I can see that he does care for you greatly. I have been waiting for the day you would tell me that you had feelings for him, but you never seemed to want to talk about it so I let you be." She sounded so sure of herself and Kagome knew she meant every word of it. Kagome felt bad that she hadn't been talking to her Mom about this stuff, but she wasn't ready to do that yet so she let the thought go. 

"Oh. Anyway the thing I wanted to talk to you about is that something happened to me when I was in the past. I was bitten by this weird demon and I almost died." Her mother looked upset. "But don't worry Inuyasha saved me, of course.  It's just that in order to save me he had to give me some of his blood." Now her mother looked confused and she had every right to be. So Kagome went on to tell her mother all about what giving her the blood would mean for both her and Inuyasha. She told her about everything, including the kiss. 

Her mother gave her a hug and smiled at her. "Well I guess this means you will be staying in the Feudal Era right?" She sighed when Kagome nodded. 

"I don't have any other choice. I can't bring him here and we have to be together almost all the time or we could both die. I am sorry Mom. I will still come back to see you all the time, but I guess I won't be able to go to school anymore." Kagome got very sad suddenly. She had been working so hard to try and pass her courses, but it didn't even matter anymore, she was never going to have the normal life she wanted now. Kagome started to cry softly.

Her mother hugged her tightly. "Kagome this is good news, not bad news. You are alive and I am greatfull for that. Also you are stronger than before. I know it will be hard to outlive us all, but at least I know you will live a long happy life with Inuyasha. Everything will be ok. I am just glad you are all right." Kagome sniffled and held her mother even tighter. "Is it really so bad to spend the rest of your life with the man you love?" Kagome pulled away a bit and looked into her mother's eyes. 

"But everyone else I love other than him will die LONG before I do!! I don't know if I can take that!" Kagome yelled through her tears.

"You can have a family of your own and they will live a long time also. Besides I am sure that Miroku and Sango will have plenty of kids and you can live long enough to take care of them after their parents go. Souta will have kids one day also and you can watch out for them too, whenever you come to visit. The shrine will always be your home and you can come here any time, even after we are all gone. We will all live on through our children. I know I will always live on through mine." Kagome was starting to feel a little better but she was still upset. 

'Maybe she is right. Maybe this is a good thing. Now Inuyasha and I can be together and he doesn't have to worry about me dying before him.' Kagome thought to herself. "You are right Mom. Everything will be ok. I am so glad you are here for me to talk to. I love you so much." Kagome and her mother hugged tightly once again and then they pulled apart. They both had tears in their eyes now.

"I love you too, Kagome. Now why don't you come down for dinner. I will tell Souta all about these changes after dinner so you don't have to. I am sure he will think it is wonderful." Kagome's mother smiled and walked out the door. 

Kagome followed her mother downstairs and ate with her family. She decided to get some sleep and returned to her room once more. 'I do love Inuyasha and I am going to tell him when I get back!' Kagome thought as she fell asleep with a smile on her face. 

In the morning, Kagome awoke, got dressed, then packed her things. Running downstairs quickly, Kagome gave her mother a hug and a kiss goodbye. She then turned to Souta, who looked proud of his sister, and she giggled a little. 'I knew he would think it was cool.' "Well I am going now. I will see you all in a week or two. See ya!" Kagome yelled as she ran out the door and into the well house. She shut the door and looked into the well. 'I will tell him today no matter what! I will find out how he feels about me once and for all!' She thought and then jumped into the well.

* * *

  


Well that's chapter 5 sorry it took longer then normal but the next chap. should be up soon. ^_^ See ya then! 

_This chapter has been reposted thanks to proof reading by Bonnie 217!_


	6. True feelings

Chapter 6- True feelings 

Inuyasha had been awake for a few hours already and was sitting by the well waiting for Kagome to return. 'Where is she already! I need to know if she is still mad at me. I need to see her.' He sighed and just then caught a wonderful scent. It was Kagome. She was back. He jumped into the well and grabbed her and her big yellow bag and jumped out with them both in hand. They stood face to face just outside the well. 

"Inuyasha I need to talk to you…" Kagome started to talk but was lost in his eyes. 

She tried to look away so that she could talk to him with a clear head but she was having great trouble. He saw this and picked her up once again, leaving her bag behind as he ran as far away from the well and everyone else as he could. When he was sure he was far enough away from everyone, he stopped. It was a beautiful place, too. They were on the top of a hill.  There were flowers all around them and it looked down on a lake.  Everything looked perfect. He had been planning to take Kagome to this place for a long time to talk alone but he never had the courage to do it before. 

"Where are we? This is beautiful! Why did you take me here?" Kagome asked Inuyasha, who blushed a little, then looked away.

"It's just a place I go to sometimes to think. I wanted you to see it. I though you might like it here. At least we can be alone here so we can…talk.. I don't think that anyone will find us here. " Inuyasha was blushing even more now. But he looked Kagome determinedly in the eyes. At that moment they could both feel the others love. 

"Kagome…" Inuyasha started to say something but couldn't remember what it was because he was lost in her eyes. She blushed and looked away. Inuyasha put his hand on her cheek and moved her head slowly toward his. When their eyes met she opened her mouth wide and gasped a little because she couldn't believe how wonderful he looked at that moment. "Kagome? Are…you still mad at me?" Inuyasha's voice was soft and loving when he spoke. 

Kagome looked surprised for a second, having already forgotten that she had been so angry the day before. "No. I understand why you were scared to tell me about everything. I just wish you could talk to me more." She looked away again.

He lifted her face to meet his once more and looked deep into her eyes. " I am here to talk to you now, aren't I?" Inuyasha said in such a sweet voice that Kagome melted. She couldn't move; she couldn't even speak.  They started to move their faces closer together slowly. Their eyes never left each other's gaze until they finally kissed.  They both shut their eyes tightly and Inuyasha put his arms around Kagome, bringing her closer to him. The kiss deepened as Kagome put her arms around his neck. Kagome seemed weak in the knees again, so Inuyasha held her even tighter. Kagome moaned ever so slightly and it drove Inuyasha crazy. 

Kagome was quickly losing herself in Inuyasha's embrace. 'Is this really happening? Does this mean he wants to be with me? What will I do if he rejects me? I love him so much.' Kagome tried to clear her thought, but she just couldn't. Just then Inuyasha pulled away, leaving her breathless and wanting more. 

"Kagome…" His voice was shaky and he was panting a bit. "What's wrong? I am sorry if I upset you." Inuyasha could feel that she was scared and even nervous. He didn't want her to feel either one. 'Does this mean she doesn't want me to kiss her any more? What if she rejects me?' 

"I just…." She was having trouble speaking. "Inuyasha….do you…want to be with me? I know that we HAVE to stay near each other now, but is that what you really want? Do you want us to be more than friends?" Kagome couldn't believe she'd just asked him that. She was scared and nervous, but she could tell that he was too.

"Kagome. I have always wanted you to stay with me. I don't know what I would do if you left to stay in your time. I…..want you to be more than just my friend…I want you to be…." 

Inuyasha was very nervous, and he was beginning to perspire - even his hands were shaking. Kagome grabbed his hands to stop them from shaking, and looked into his eyes. 'She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,' Inuyasha thought to himself, then tried to speak again. "I want you to be…..my…mate. Would you be my life mate Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, blushing as he watched Kagome's surprised face light up. Then Kagome smiled in such a way, that his heart nearly stopped. She was breathtaking, and Inuyasha didn't think he could live without her, but did she feel the same way?

"Inuyasha?? Do you mean that?" She gasped when he nodded yes, and then looked at the ground. "Oh my god. I…well….."At first she couldn't find the words. After several moments of silence, Kagome blurted out, "of course!!" She through herself into his arms once more. Kagome had tears in her eyes because she was so happy. 'I can't believe this! He wants us to be together always!' "Can we get married too? My mother would want us to be married." Kagome asked looking happy and hopeful.

"Whatever you want." Inuyasha said with a big smile. "I will do anything that will make you happy." He leaned down to her face and gave her another kiss, but this time it was different. Neither of them were scared anymore, and they let their true feelings fully show in their kiss. It was so intense that Inuyasha could no longer stand, so he lowered them both down onto the soft grass. He pulled away for a moment to take off his top and place it on the ground, and then he moved Kagome onto it so she would be more comfortable. He got on top of Kagome while holding most of his weight off of her so that he wouldn't hurt her. They started to kiss again. 

When the kisses started to get too intense, Kagome pulled away a little. She didn't think she could take much more before she gave into him completely, so she had to stop. She couldn't give herself to him until they were married. "Inuyasha can you just hold me for a while?" He nodded and looked a little upset, but he wasn't even a little bit angry , so she let it go. Inuyasha lifted himself off Kagome, then lay on his back before pulling her close to him again. She put her head on his chest and her arm around his waist. They stayed like that for a little while before they both fall asleep. Since neither had gotten much sleep the night before, due to each worry about the other, they welcomed sleep happily. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kouga found them a short time later. He looked at the two sleeping on the ground, and then yelled "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH MY WOMAN???!!!!!!!!" This woke the two pretty quickly and they jumped up.

"Kouga I am NOT your woman!! I am with Inuyasha now. We are going to be life mates," Kagome told the angry wolf demon with a bit of a blush on her face. 

"What are you talking about!? Of course you are my woman! And I refuse to let you be with dog crap over there!! Now come with me! I will take care of you from now on!" Kouga sounded stern and very angry. 'How dare she say she is not my woman?!' he thought to himself.

Inuyasha was now angrier then he had ever been in his life. 'We finally told each other that we wanted to be together and this fucking asshole comes and tries to mess it up?! NO WAY!' "If you don't leave right now you won't be able to, you fucking asshole!!! How darn you!! She was NEVER yours and never will be! LEAVE NOW!!!" Inuyasha's tone was enough to scare even Kagome, but Kouga wasn't moving.

"FUCK YOU! SHE IS MINE!" Kouga yelled, running at Inuyasha at full speed, throwing him hard into a tree. 

"INUYASHA!!!!!!" Kagome yelled and watched as Inuyasha got up off the ground, then began exchanging punches with Kouga. 

"Die you fucking bastard!" Inuyasha yelled as he punched Kouga in the nose so hard that it broke and began to bleed all over. Kouga didn't stop for a second, kicking Inuyasha in the face, followed by a punch to the stomach hard enough to send him flying. Inuyasha hit his head on a rock as he fell, and his head started to bleed. He was becoming dizzy, but didn't slow down at all. He was able to roll out of the way of another one of Kouga's kicks, and then he was on his feet.  Inuyasha then pulled out Tetsusaiga and used Zaze-No-Kizu on Kouga, but he was too fast and managed to get out of the way in time. 

Kagome had seen enough of this. She was now infuriated and Inuyasha could tell but he did not stop fighting to look at her. "STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!!" Kagome yelled. 

When they stopped and looked at her, the two pugilists were both a little scared at what they saw. Kagome's aura was strong and she had a bright purple light all around her. Her hair was flying wildly in the wind as she walked toward them. Her miko powers were very strong now that she was angry, and they were both afraid she might purify them by mistake because she was so mad. They both stepped back a bit. "Please calm down Kagome. You are going to kill us BOTH if you don't control yourself! Your miko powers are too strong because you have my blood in you. Please calm down!" Inuyasha was worried that she might do something that she would later regret, but Kagome seemed to calm down a little when she felt his worry. 

"Kouga! LEAVE NOW! I am not your woman and I will never be! Do you understand me??" Kagome was still moving toward them and she looked very angry, and bright light surrounded her.

"Ye…yes. I will go if that's what you want." Kouga looked hurt and this calmed Kagome completely. She was no longer mad, in fact she felt a little guilty, but that passed quickly.

"Yes it's what I want. I hope that we can still be friends, but nothing more than that will ever happen between us Kouga." Kagome said this in a stern voice and watched solemnly as Kouga nodded to her, then left quickly in a blur. Once he was gone ,Kagome felt a little dizzy and she started to fall but Inuyasha caught her before she hit the ground.

"Are you ok???" Inuyasha yelled, sounding upset and a little surprised. 

"I….think so. I don't know what happened, but I feel dizzy. I think I need to sleep for a bit. Will you hold me?" Kagome asked very softly. Then Inuyasha looked relieved, and laid them both down on the grass.  Kagome fell asleep once again, hoping that Kouga would not return any time soon.

Inuyasha looked down at the sleeping Kagome, with her head pillowed upon his chest once again. 'She is so beautiful. I can't believe she really wants to be my life mate.' he smiled, whispering into her ear ever so softly. "I love you, _my _Kagome." Then he fell asleep again himself. 

Kagome had not heard his confession to her, but was happy nonetheless in his arms fast asleep, dreaming of their future together. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Awwwww isn't that sweet? ^_^  

I reposted this Chapter now that it was proof read by Bonnie217 I hope you enjoy the changes.


	7. Together at last

Chapter 7- Together at last 

I do NOT own Inuyasha. You know I am getting tired of having to write that. 

It was about 2 hours later when Kagome awoke. She felt warm and safe. She opened her eyes and noticed that someone was holding her, then she remembered all that had happened earlier that day. She was in Inuyasha's arms and he was going to be her husband. He cared about her and maybe even loved her. She remembered what happened with Kouga and she gasped and put her hand over her mouth so that she would not wake Inuyasha. She looked at him for a moment to make sure that he had not woken up and was surprised to find that he hadn't. 

'I can't believe what I said to Kouga, he is going to hate me forever.' Kagome thought to herself and a tear ran down her face. 'Where did all that power come from? I scared them both. I don't want Inuyasha to be scared of me. I don't want Kouga to hate me! What have I done?' She started to cry a bit harder and that's when Inuyasha finally woke up.

Kagome jumped in surprise when Inuyasha suddenly grabbed her and held her tightly, but she relaxed into him only seconds later and hugged him back just as tightly. "Kagome, are you alright?" Inuyasha asked her. He was worried about her. When he had awakened, he could feel that she was upset, and he could smell the tears in her eyes. "Please don't cry; tell me what's wrong."

"I just….I don't know what happened before. I scared you didn't I?" Kagome was crying harder now, but she had her head in Inuyasha's chest, so he couldn't see her eyes. 

"I wasn't scared!" Kagome gave him a look and he remembered that she could tell exactly what he was feeling. He sighed 'I don't want her to think I was scared of her but she could have killed us both without even trying. She has so much power now. She will need some training.'  "Ok, so you worried me for a second, but only because you looked so mad and you didn't seem to have full control of your powers. You just need some training. I am sure Kaede would be willing to teach you." Inuyasha now sat up and pulled her into his lap so that he could hold on to her better.

"I could have killed you, Inuyasha!! I had no idea what I was doing! I didn't want to hurt either of you. I just wanted you to stop fighting, and now Kouga probably hates me,  and you are scared of me! I don't know what to do!" She was practically screaming this at Inuyasha in-between sobs. 

"I AM NOT SCARED OF YOU! I know that no matter what happens, you would NEVER hurt me! And I don't know why you care if Kouga hates you or not, but he doesn't! He loves you. How could he hate you? You just hurt his fucking ego and he deserved it! You didn't do anything wrong! You didn't hurt anyone! It is my fault if it is anyone's! I should have warned you more about how much stronger you are now. I am sorry that I did this to you; I would understand if you hated me." Inuyasha held her tighter as he said this; he couldn't stand to see her so upset.

Kagome could tell that he was upset and that he felt guilty and that upset her more. "This is NOT your fault! All you did was save my life, and I am so grateful for it. You are right. I shouldn't be so upset. I didn't hurt anyone and that's all that matters." Kagome stopped crying and pulled back from Inuyasha just a little so she could look into his eyes. They were so beautiful and she could feel the love he had for her; it was almost overwhelming. She kissed him softly on the lips, then moved back again to look into his eyes. "Inuyasha…" she said in a soft voice. "I lo….." she was cut off when she heard someone call her name.

'SHIT! She was going to say it! That fucking little shit is going to die!' Inuyasha looked behind them and saw Shippo running up to them. "He must have followed our scents when we didn't come back earlier," Inuyasha said in an unhappy tone of voice. "I guess I was wrong about people not finding us here." He could hear Kagome giggle and he was happy that she wasn't upset anymore.

"KAGOME!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN! I was so worried about you! I went to the well an hour ago and your scent was at least a few hours old. Why didn't you come back to Kaede's?" Shippo was very upset. He thought something had happened to them and he had run to find them. 

"I am sorry Shippo.  We just needed to talk. Everything is fine now." Kagome held him tightly. She noticed that Inuyasha was feeling a little jealous and she giggled a bit. 'He is jealous of Shippo? Well maybe that's why he seems so upset when I take Shipp's side all the time and hold him. Poor Inuyasha.' Kagome then put one arm around Inuyasha and kept the other one around Shippo. This seemed to make Inuyasha feel better. 

"What's so funny?" Shippo asked in an innocent voice. 

"Oh nothing, Shippo, just thinking about something; don't worry about it." Kagome smiled at him and then at Inuyasha. 

"Hey…..why are you in Inuyasha's lap???" Shippo asked, as if just realizing where she was sitting.

"I…um…well I was upset and Inuyasha was trying to make me feel better, that's all." Kagome said. smiling. 

"Inuyasha was trying to make you feel better??? Wow did hell freeze over?" Shippo looked a little shocked at first and then he was laughing. He stopped laughing quickly when he realized that Inuyasha was now trying to get up so he could hit him. "AHHHHH" Screaming, Shippo jumped out of Kagome's arms and ran away. 

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Inuyasha yelled after the kit, but didn't follow after him and instead held Kagome tighter. "I can be nice you know! It does happen!" Inuyasha said but a bit more quietly than before.

Shippo stopped running when he noticed that no one was running after him. 'Something is going on with them and I am going to find out what!' Shippo thought to himself with an evil grin on his face. "Hey what's wrong with you today? First you are nice to Kagome and then you don't try and hit me when I am mean to you. Something is going on." He gave them suspicious looks. 

"Well….Inuyasha and I are a couple now." Kagome said with a big smile on her face and she hugged Inuyasha tighter as she looked at Shippo, whose mouth was now hanging open to the ground. Inuyasha had a big grin on his face and laughed at Shippo's surprise.

"You guys are a couple? You are mates? You don't smell like mates," Shippo said, moving closer to smell Kagome better.

"NO! We aren't mates…yet. We will be. We are…I guess he is my fiancée." When they both gave her confused looks, Kagome corrected herself, remembering that they were not from her time and said, "Inuyasha is my life mate to be." 

Shippo opened his eyes wide. "You are going to be life mates??" Inuyasha thought Shippo would hate the idea, but, surprisingly, he didn't. "It's about time you guys got together!" Shippo jumped up and down, then hugged Kagome again. He looked up at Inuyasha with a serous face "You had better not hurt her, or I will make you pay!" Shippo yelled, with his chest puffed out so he would look bigger. 

Inuyasha just laughed and patted him on the head. "Don't worry about it. I will take good care of her." He grinned at Shippo, who seemed to except this.  It was getting to be late in the day so they decided to go back to Kaede's and have dinner. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sango was making dinner for everyone and was worried that Kagome had not returned yet. Inuyasha had gone to wait by the well for her hours ago and now Shippo was missing. She sighed and then looked at Miroku who was resting on a tree across from her. 'He looks so peaceful. Too bad he can't always be like that.' Sango giggled and Miroku looked up at her. They both looked off into the distance, hearing someone laughing. It was Kagome's voice, and soon they saw the missing trio walking up to the hut. 

"KAGOME! You are back. Is everything alright?" Sango was so happy to see her friend back and smiling that she didn't even notice that Inuyasha and Kagome were holding hands.

However, Miroku did notice, and he had a big grin on his face. "I see everything is alright between you two now." He glanced down at their hands. "Maybe things are even better than before?" he questioned with a knowing look. They both blushed a bit and Miroku was now very happy. 'They are finally together. It took them long enough!"

Sango looked at Miroku, wondering what he was talking about.  Then she noticed their hands and the blushes on their faces. "Um…..where have you guys been?" Sango managed to ask, before Inuyasha could yell at Miroku. 

"We just needed to talk for a while. Sorry if we worried you Sango, and yes Miroku, everything is alright between us now." Kagome said with a smile on her face. 

"They are going to be life mates!!!!" Shippo shouted and jumped up and down. Inuyasha looked annoyed but didn't say anything for once. 

"We are getting married too." Kagome said quickly, with a smile.

"Oh my god!!!! REALLY????? That's so great! It's about time you guys told each other how you feel!" Sango ran to hug her friend.

Miroku noticed that when Sango said "_It's about time you guys told each other how you feel_!" Inuyasha looked at the ground. 'Could he not have told her that he loves her? Would he really ask her to be his wife without telling her that he loved her?' He sighed, then walked over to Inuyasha, who had been pushed aside by the two giggly girls, now jumping up and down and talking about weddings. "You did tell her that you love her, didn't you Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

'Damn, how does he always know that kind of shit?' Inuyasha sighed. "Not yet, but I will." Miroku shook his head. "WHAT!? She must know that I love her if she said yes, right?" Inuyasha tried to keep his voice down the best he could, so that the others wouldn't hear him. 

"Yes, I am sure she does know that you love her, and I KNOW she loves you, but it's a good idea to tell her anyway. Did you get her a ring?" Miroku asked.  From the look on Inuyasha's face, Miroku was sure he already knew the answer. He sighed and put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "When you ask a woman to marry you, you need to give her a ring so that other humans know that she is taken. It should be a gold ring with a diamond in the middle. She may not ask for it, but I know she wants one." Miroku, satisfied with Inuyasha's very thoughtful face, walked over to Kagome to give her a hug also. "Congratulations, Kagome," he said, then smiled and walked away.

Sango was so happy for her friend. "Hey Kagome, why don't we go take a bath and talk for a while? We can eat dinner when we get back. Miroku will take care of it." 

"That would be great! I will go get my stuff." Kagome was so happy as she ran for her bath supplies and a towel. 

Inuyasha was brought out of his own thoughts by the strong emotion of happiness he felt coming from Kagome. He looked at her and couldn't believe just how beautiful she was as she ran by him to get her things. 'She is so happy. She must really love me,' Inuyasha thought as he watched her run back with great speed. 'I guess I should talk to Kaede about training her while she is gone.' 

Kagome stopped in front of Sango, then turned back to Inuyasha and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I will be back in a little while." Then she grabbed Sango by the arm and they went off giggling and smiling happily. 

"She looked so happy, didn't she?" Shippo pointed out and smiled. "It's good to have the old Kagome back again. She was so sad before." He looked sad for a moment, but it the sadness passed quickly, and he ran to play with Kirara.

Miroku couldn't help but laugh at how easily Shippo changed from happy to sad and then back again. 'It must be nice to be young,' he thought and smiled. He turned to Inuyasha who was still looking into the distance after Kagome and Sango. "I am happy for you both, Inuyasha. You two make a great couple." Inuyasha turned to him and nodded. "So….you guys are going to be life mates. Have you already become mates?" Miroku asked, then winked at Inuyasha, who hit him on the head. "What? It's a valid question." Miroku laughed. "I mean you guys have been in love with each other for about 2 years now right? Why not have some fun?" He winked again and laughed even more.

"It's none of your business, Hentai!" Inuyasha yelled, but he had a smile on his face. He turned around to face the hut. "I am going to ask Kaede to train Kagome. Do you think you can help her train while we are traveling?" he asked Miroku.

Miroku immediately turned serous. "Her powers have grown very fast since she has gotten your blood, haven't they?" Inuyasha nodded. "I will help her in anyway I can. I will come with you to talk to Kaede about it. I am sure she will be happy to help." 

They both went into the hut to talk to Kaede, who immediately agreed to help Kagome. Inuyasha told her about everything that happened earlier, omitting the kissing and some other private things that they had said. Kaede seemed a little worried though when Inuyasha told her about how much power Kagome gave off when she was angry with Kouga. "Kagome doesn't get angry like that much and I have never heard of her getting so upset about you and Kouga fighting before. Maybe she was reacting to your emotions, Inuyasha. It may have been too much for her. All that anger coming from you and some of her own as well must have been too much. She had a lot of power before but now she MUST learn to control it or she really could kill you, Inuyasha. But I am glad to hear that you and Kagome are going to be together now. I am happy for you both." Kaede looked pensive, so Inuyasha and Miroku left her alone with her thoughts and went to eat some dinner.

Miroku was also worried about what Inuyasha had told them, but he decided to worry about that at a later time. 'I will simply have to help her keep her powers under control,' Miroku thought as he ate.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kagome and Sango were having a great time while they bathed, even though the water was a bit cold. They seemed happy talking about everything that had happened. Kagome told Sango everything about Kouga and Inuyasha and everything he said and they did. Sango couldn't believe it all. 

"Wow, Kagome I can't believe he said that to you and that you guys are getting married. Maybe we can have a double wedding!" Sango shouted happily. She and Miroku had been engaged for about a year. They were waiting until after they killed Naraku to get married. "Are you going to wait until we kill Naraku also, or are you going to get married right away?" Sango asked, very happy about everything, and yet still a little worried about her best friend's new powers.

"I have no idea, but I think we will wait for a while. We haven't even told my mom yet. I don't know where the wedding will be. I think we might have the wedding there and then the party here with you guys. I wish you could come to my side of the well." Kagome sighed, but was still happy. She was having so much fun talking about everything with Sango that she felt as if she were a normal girl and that made her so happy. 

Kagome suddenly turned around and looked into the woods in the direction away from the hut. "Kagome are you alright? What is it?" Sango asked, seeing the worry on her friend's face. 

"I don't know. I think someone's out there. I hear something moving and I smell something, but I am not sure what, really. I think it's a demon," Kagome said calmly. She was getting used to being able to smell so well and hear so well. 'For some reason I am not scared, but I am sure it must be a demon.' 

What looked like a black panther, only bigger, came out of the woods. He didn't appear to want to hurt them; he just stood at the end of the lake and looked at them. The panther was bigger then Kirara in the full bigger form and it had green eyes. It was beautiful. 

Sango got out of the water quickly, wrapping herself in a towel, then held her Hiraikotsu in her hands but made no move to attack. "What do you think it wants?" Kagome asked Sango, who seemed ready to fight at any second if she needed to. Sango just shook her head and watched the creature that was definitely a demon. 

Suddenly he changed from a panther to what looked like an almost human man but with ears like Sesshoumaru. He also had fangs and claws too. He was very handsome. In fact neither of them had ever seen anyone so beautiful in their lives. He had long black hair with two small strands of silver hair in the front, framing his face. He was tall. about 6'5", and he looked very strong. He wore something that looked very much like Inuyasha's Fire Rat Kimono, but it was black, and it was open at the top, so that you could see a bit of his chest. He had two black strips on his face, one on each cheek. His eyes were a deep green. They were amazing. Kagome gasped at his beauty. 

He made no attempt to move closer to them when he spoke. His voice was deep and calm, "My name is Isane. I am not here to hurt you. Please do not be afraid." 

Sango put her weapon down at her side but still remained ready to use it. Though he was a demon, and a strange one, he didn't seem to want to hurt them. "Why are you here? What do you want with us?" Sango asked him in a stern but not angry voice. 

Kagome was holding her arms over her naked body but she was still under the water and didn't think he could see anything. She knew she should be mad that he was standing there while she was naked, but she wasn't. It was strange; she almost felt as if she knew him. 

"I only wish to talk. I apologize for coming to see you while you were bathing but I did not think that the hanyou you travel with would take too kindly to me, since I am a demon. I know much about your group and I have come to help you if you will allow me to." He spoke calmly and he even bowed his head. "I will turn and let you dress.  Then we may talk more if you are willing to listen."  

He turned and they did as he had suggested, getting dressed quickly.  Sango never took her eyes off him while getting dressed. Though she didn't think he would hurt them, she didn't want to take the chance. She turned to Kagome and spoke in a low voice so that only Kagome's now very good hearing could have heard her. "He could have just killed us while we weren't paying attention, so I don't think he wants to hurt us, but I don't know many demons that are willing to help humans. I don't know what he wants, but I don't think he is going to hurt us."

Kagome nodded. "I trust him for some reason. I don't think he will hurt us either. Let's hear what he has to say. I will try and keep all my emotions under control so that Inuyasha doesn't come in and try to kill Isane." Sango nodded knowing that Inuyasha would kill first and ask questions later.

Now that they were dressed, they watched Isane turn around. He seemed to know when they were done. "Why would you want to help us? Do you have something against Naraku?" Kagome asked in a sweet voice. 

No, I do not have any reason to kill Naraku himself, however I do wish to kill the demon that sent the creature to hurt you a week ago. He is strong and I will need help to kill him." Isane said this in a powerful voice.

Sango and Kagome looked at each other, too shocked to talk for a moment. Then they both said at the said time, "WHAT???" 

Kagome recovered from her shock first and spoke again. "What do you mean the one that sent the creature? The one that sent him was Naraku! He had a spider shaped scar on his back! If it wasn't Naraku, then who was it??" Kagome was getting upset.  It was getting harder to hide it, and she knew Inuyasha would soon come to see what was going on. She tried to think happy thoughts, but she wasn't too successful.

Just then Inuyasha run through the trees and jumped in front of Kagome. "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU??" he yelled at Isane, while holding Tetsusaiga in front of him. Isane was still fairly far away from Kagome, which was the only reason Inuyasha hadn't killed him immediately upon arrival. That and the fact that Kagome was only upset, not scared. 

"My name is Isane, and I am here to ask for your help," the demon said in a calm voice. 

"MY help??? Why the fuck do you need my help?" Inuyasha was not happy about this. 'Why was Kagome just talking to him? She should have been scared and then I would have known to come. What's going on??'

"Well your help would be nice too, however the one I really wanted to help me is your miko. She has great power and we have the same enemy. I thought we could help each other." Isane said again in a calm voice that sounded a lot like Sesshoumaru's but not as cold.

"You want to help us fight Naraku?" Inuyasha asked, now curious about the new demon. 

"No, I want you to help me fight the one that sent the creature to kill Kagome," Isane stated bluntly, as he watched Inuyasha'a reaction closely. 

"What the fuck are you talking about? That WAS Naraku!!" Inuyasha yelled as Miroku and Shippo arrived to see what was going on. 

"It was not Naraku!" The demon sounded upset that everyone kept saying that. "Yes it did have a spider shaped scar on it's back, however it was not Naraku that sent it. You were tricked into believing that, so you would rush in and try to kill Naraku. Did you not notice that it was different from all of Naraku's creatures? The frog creature was weak and he could not speak. Yes, he had poison, and he was fast, but nothing like the type of thing Naraku would send." Isane watched their faces closely.

"I knew it! I knew it didn't sound like one of his creations!" Myouga said from Miroku's shoulder. "But if it was not Naraku, then who was it!?" the flea asked, rubbing his chin in thought.

"It was his son." Isane stated with a hateful look in his beautiful green eyes. 

Everyone's mouths hit the floor. They were in shock. 'How could that be?' they all thought. 

  
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This Chapter has been reposted after being proof read by Bonnie217. I hope it is better now. She is a good proof reader if I do say so myself.


	8. A New Enemy

**Chapter 8- A New Enemy **

I do NOT own Inuyasha and if you don't know that by now then you have problems! 

Hey guys I hope you all liked that surprise I gave you in the last chapter. ^_^ This chapter should make things more clear. 

ENJOY!

"It was his son." Isane stated with a hateful look in his beautiful green eyes. 

Everyone's mouths hit the floor. They were in shock. 'How could that be?' they all thought. 

"He has a son? How could we not have known about him?" Miroku asked in a shaky voice. 'If his son is as strong as Naraku himself, then we have big problems,' he thought.

"Yes he does. His name is Nakazo and he is about 25 years old now." Isane stated looking calm again. "The reason you didn't know about him is because he is never around his father. He hates his father." He watched as everyone tried to understand what was going on. 

Why does he hate his father?" Shippo asked looking scared. 

"He hates him because Naraku killed his mother. His mother was a full demon and a strong one at that. She was beautiful and smart but Naraku tricked her into sleeping with him. Naraku made himself look like her mate and she slept with him thinking that it was her love. In the morning she found out the truth. Naraku had killed her mate and used her to give him an heir. She hated him for that but she kept her son anyway and raised him without Naraku. Nakazo and his mother were very close. She was very good to him despite the fact that she hated his father. She frequently told her son of his father and how evil Naraku was, but she thought she could outsmart him. She thought that Naraku couldn't find them, but he did. When Nakazo was 10, Naraku came to claim him as his heir and take him from his mother. She fought Naraku but was defeated in the end. She died and Naraku tried to take his son, but when Nakazo saw his mother dead, he went crazy.  Nakazo turned into his demon form and was able to hurt the already weakened Naraku enough that he had to run away. Ever since then Nakazo has been hiding from his father and has become much stronger than Naraku himself could ever be." 

"Ok stop right there! How do you know so much about him and what happened in such detail?" Inuyasha yelled. "Why do you care so much about his son? Why do you want him dead?? Give me some fucking answers or you are going to die!" 

Inuyasha looked angry. He didn't trust this guy.  He was also mad that Kagome seemed to trust him without even knowing him. 'What the hell is going on?' his mind screamed.

"I apologize. I should have made that clear in the beginning." Isane stated as he bowed in respect to the hanyou. "The reason that I know Nakazo so well is because we grew up together. He was my best friend until the day his mother died. And the reason I know what happened to his mother in such detail is because I was there when it happened." Isane looked sad for a moment but recovered quickly. 

"If he was your best friend, why would you want him dead?" Kagome asked in a sweet and calm voice, as if he were an old friend. Inuyasha didn't like that and she could tell he was getting even more upset. She sighed but didn't say anything. 

"After Nakazo buried his mother, he changed. All the good and happiness had drained out of him. He became even more evil then Naraku himself. I tried to help him, but he wouldn't let me. He went insane and killed anyone in his way. He didn't care who it was. He wants to be the strongest and the best demon there is. He is pure evil, but because of who he once was I stayed by his side. For many years I tried to make him see that he couldn't do whatever he wanted and that he couldn't just kill everyone for no reason, but he didn't understand or he just didn't care." 

Isane looked sad again and spoke in a lower voice. "I finally left his side and found a mate so I could have a family and be happy, which is what I wanted him to do as well, but he would not. My mate's name was Hana and she loved humans and was always kind to everyone. She was a wonderful mate. I loved her very much." Isane now looked very upset. "My mate and I were out one day walking when we saw him about to kill a little human girl because she bumped into him while she was playing with her friends. Hana saw this and was upset and tried to stop him. She never had a chance to hurt him because he turned around as she walked closer and stabbed her through the heart with his sword."

Isane was angry after saying this and his eyes flashed red for a moment. 'He must have really loved his mate a lot,' Kagome thought to herself. 

"I ran to her, but it was too late. She was dead only a moment after that. I tried to kill Nakazo. He knew she was my mate and yet he killed her anyway. He has become truly pure evil if he could kill the mate of his best and only friend. I was as a brother to him! He betrayed me! I tired to kill him then, but I was no match for him alone. He is very powerful, and knows no emotion other than hate. He left me on the ground to bleed to death without even looking back at me. The children helped me even though I was a demon, because my mate saved the little girl's life. Once I recovered from my injuries, I began to watch him, looking for any weakness he might have, so that I could one day get revenge for my beloved mate. That is how I knew that he sent the creature after you. He used a spell on it so that it appeared to have the same spider shaped scar Naraku does. I was not able to stop him from attacking you, but once I learned that Kagome still lived after being poisoned, I began to watch your group, in order to see if you could help me." Isane looked calm again but they knew he was hurting.

"You have been watching us since Kagome got better? How come we didn't know you were there? Shouldn't Inuyasha have been able to smell you?" Miroku asked. 'If Naraku's son is really as strong as he says we are really in a lot of trouble,' he thought. 

"I sent a friend of mine who is also a Panther demon to warn you all, but he was too late to help.  He watched over you all from a distance and came to me once he saw Kagome had lived and told me everything that had happened. After that I came and watched you myself. The reason that Inuyasha didn't smell me is because I covered up my scent and even if he had smelled me once or twice he wouldn't have thought much of it because when I am in Panther form, I smell like an animal and he smells them all the time," Isane replied to Miroku, who seemed to understand now. 

"But why does Nakazo want Kagome dead anyway? If he hates Naraku why doesn't he try to kill him? Why does he care about her? And why is he attacking now all of a sudden? Why didn't he attack before?" Sango asked in an upset voice. She was worried about Kagome and it was obvious in her voice. 

"Like Naraku, Nakazo can only be killed by a miko." Everyone looked at him as if he were crazy. He sighed. "You must know by now that no matter how badly you hurt Naraku, he can always rebuild his body." They nodded slowly, and he continued.

 "That makes him impossible to kill unless you can purify him. Purifying him is the only way to get rid of him for good. Once the body is weakened, a miko must purify him, but it would take a very strong miko to do it and your Kagome is the only one right now that can. That is why he wants Kagome dead. Right now Kagome and all of you are his only real threat. He wants you all dead as well. He has known about you all for a long time, but he did not want any of you dead until Kagome was able to purify his father. He grew impatient waiting for you all to kill him. He sent the creature to poison Kagome with two possible outcomes in mind. Either Kagome would die and you would all rush in and try and kill Naraku and die in the process, which would get rid of his threat.  He was willing to accept that for now. That is the one he was hoping for. Or you would find a way to save Kagome and together you would all kill Naraku immediately out of anger for what he had done. Either way he wins." He looked Kagome in the eyes, waiting to see her reaction. She seemed to be a little scared and very worried. "He will be back to try and kill her, now that you know the truth about Nakazo." Isane said looking almost worried. 

Shippo started to cry. "He is going to try and kill Kagome again?!?" Shippo asked and started to cry harder.

Inuyasha put his arm around Kagome protectively. "THERE IS NO FUCKING WAY HE IS GOING TO HURT _MY_  KAGOME!!" Inuyasha yelled and his eyes flashed red quickly and then back to their normal color. "How do we know we can trust you anyway, Isane? How do we know he didn't send you to trick us?" Inuyasha asked in a less then trusting voice.

Kagome turned around, looked into Inuyasha's eyes, and spoke in a calm voice "Inuyasha I trust him. I don't know why but I do." Inuyasha gave her a look that said that wasn't enough of a reason. "What?? I haven't I been right in the past about these things??" Kagome yelled, now upset that Inuyasha didn't trust her judgment.  Then she turned and looked at their friends and back at Inuyasha. "I trusted Shippo, Miroku, and Sango, didn't I, and that turned out alright didn't it???" She asked Inuyasha a bit too loudly for his taste, and he flattened his ears.

"It's not that I don't trust your judgment, Kagome, it's that we don't know anything about him." Inuyasha was going to continue, but the look Kagome gave him stopped what he was going to say. "Alright I get it; you trust him. Fine, but I am watching you, Isane!" Inuyasha said and then pulled Kagome to him and hugged her and spoke very low so that only Kagome could hear him. "Don't worry about Nakazo. I will make sure he pays for what he did to you." Kagome hugged him tightly.

"I know Inuyasha. You always take care of me." Kagome said, then pulled back a little to give him a quick kiss.  They all started to walk back to Kaede's hut with Inuyasha's arm on Kagome's shoulder and her arm around his waist. 'I love being like this with Inuyasha. I love him so much. I know everything will be ok as long as I have him' Kagome thought and smiled.

Sango was next to Miroku and took his hand. "I can't believe all of this. Thank god Naraku and Nakazo aren't working together or we would really be in trouble. I hope that we are doing the right thing by trusting Isane," Sango said as she watched Isane walk near Kagome and Inuyasha. 

"I believe he is telling the truth and I trust him as well. He has a kind aura." Miroku stated and then pulled Sango to him, causing her to stop walking. He kissed her softly and then he grabbed her butt. 

"MIROKU!" Sango yelled and slapped him. Then she blushed and walked ahead of him, smiling to herself. 'Well at least he doesn't do that to other women anymore,' she thought, then started giggling. 

Miroku just sighed and smiled 'One day we will kill Naraku and you will be my wife. When that happens my dear Sango, you won't know what hit you!' He grinned evilly

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Once back at Kaede's hut, the group told her everything that had happened. After some thought Kaede decided that she agreed that Isane had a good aura, and that he could be trusted. Inuyasha wasn't too happy with that, but he accepted it. They all sat in Kaede's hut eating dinner. 

Kagome was watching Isane closely. "So, you said that you are a Panther Demon right?" Kagome asked and Isane smiled at her and nodded. "I have never seen one before. How did you change from a Panther to a man as you did?" 

"I think I have heard of Panther demons before, but if I am correct, there aren't many of you left," Sango stated as she ate.

"Yes, you are right.  There aren't many Panther demons anymore. We were more of a peaceful race than anything else. We don't enjoy fighting unless we have to, and that made us targets I guess. Many of us were killed off years ago because we were not strong enough to defend ourselves against the stronger demons. My mate was a Panther demon and we had hoped to have a big family, but it was not to be," Isane said and then ate some more of his food.

"So you are weak. Feh I should have known." Inuyasha laughed at Isane. "No wonder you need our help. It isn't everyday a full demon asks a hanyou for help." Inuyasha was grinning now. Kagome, who was sitting next to him, elbowed him lightly and he stopped smiling and looked at her. "WHAT? He said it, not me!" Inuyasha started to laugh again.

Kagome just shook her head. 'No matter how much thing changes some things will always be the same,' Kagome thought, then gave Inuyasha a look that made him stop laughing.

"He is right. I am a weak fighter.  However, I have other abilities that I can use to help in a fight. The fact that I can turn into a Panther and fly could help in battles. I can also use poison. It's in my teeth and my claws. So if I attack as a Panther I can poison the enemy. However, unless it's a big cut, all my poison will do is slow down the healing process to a crawl. I am also very fast in both my forms, which comes in handy. My fur also is very strong against fire and electric attacks such as lightning. It is also hard to cut through. In fact, it's a lot like Inuyasha's Fire Rat Kimono, only my fur is tougher, which is another main reason why my race is dying out. Many seek the Panther Demons' fur for their armor."

"Wait.  You can poison people the same way the demon that attacked Kagome could?" Sango asked after she had thought about what he said.

"Well, yes and no. My poison is not as strong as that demon's was, and mine can be cured by herbs, if it is taken care of soon enough." Isane said, answering Sango and then looking at everyone. 

"So, you can change into a Panther anytime you want?" Kagome asked in a happy voice, as if she hadn't heard any of the stuff about poison." Everyone looked at her strangely, accept for Isane, who laughed a bit, and smiled at her.

"Yes, Kagome, I can. When I am in that form, I am much like Kirara. That is my true form much like a fox is Shippo's true form, but I can't talk while in that form, except to other animals. So I take this form often. It's easier to get around that way too, because I am smaller and faster." Isane looked at Shippo, who had eaten earlier and now slept next to Kirara.

Sango also looked at the sleeping Shippo. "Wow it's getting late and we have had a long day. Maybe we should just go to sleep and talk about this more in the morning," she said and then yawned.

"Maybe you're right, Sango. We can figure all of this out tomorrow. Goodnight everyone," Kagome said as she got up to go get her sleeping bag, then realized that Isane had nothing to sleep on. "Oh Isane, I don't have a sleeping bag for you." She thought for a moment about where he should sleep.

Sango got into her sleeping bag as did Miroku and they fell asleep right away. 'They must be very tired,' Kagome thought as she watched everyone fall asleep.

"Do not worry about me Kagome. I will sleep outside. I sleep in trees most of the time anyway. Thanks for your concern though." Isane said, then bowed in respect and walked outside.

Inuyasha had now finished eating and held Kagome. "Are you going to share your sleeping bag with me tonight?" Inuyasha asked, wearing a cute expression on his face. 

Kagome giggled at him and thought about it. "But what about everyone else? Won't they care?" Kagome said and then looked at Sango, who slept close to Miroku, but not in the same sleeping bag. 

"Who cares?" Inuyasha said and looked at Kagome.  He could tell she wanted him to hold her tonight after everything that happened. He could also tell that she felt a little nervous and he figured it was the whole Nakazo thing. "We are going to be life mates right? So why shouldn't we sleep together? It's not like we are going to do anything in front of everyone." 

"Alright. It would make me feel better if you held me tonight." Kagome smiled and went to get changed. When she came back Inuyasha was already in her sleeping bag with a grin on his face. Kagome giggled at how happy he was all of a sudden. She could feel his happiness and love and it felt great. 'Maybe I should tell him that I love him,' she thought. She looked into his eyes and he opened his arms to her as if calling her to the sleeping bag. She giggled again and then crawled into the sleeping bag and they lay there together in each other's arms and fell asleep happy and complete for the first time in a long time

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I hope you all liked that chapter. By the way, if any of you have any questions on how Isane looks or his past with Nakazo, just ask, and I will answer them the best I can. I want to make sure that you all understand everything so far, or the rest might not make sense. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed! I have been very happy with the reviews and I am glad that you all seem to like this story so far. Well, talk to you later! Bye. 

This chapter has been reposted since it was proof read by Bonnie217. Thanks again Bonnie217 you are doing a great job!


	9. Trust

Chapter 9- Trust 

I do NOT own Inuyasha and I never will.

Well on with the story. ENJOY!

When Kagome awoke, the first thing she noticed was that she was warm and she felt safe. She opened her eyes slowly and saw that the sun was just starting to rise. Inuyasha was still asleep, and to Kagome's surprise, he in fact looked like he was in the deepest sleep she had ever seen him in. Everyone else was still asleep also and she thought about going back to sleep herself, but she heard Isane outside of the hut moving around. She also heard someone else coming closer to him.

'I can hear so many more things then I ever could before.' Kagome thought before turning to look at Inuyasha again. 'Inuyasha looks so cute when he sleeps. I better not wake him.' She thought as she slowly and VERY carefully crawled out of her sleeping bag and out of Inuyasha's arms. Somehow she hadn't woke him. He seemed to have grabbed the part of the sleeping bag she had been in and was holding it as if it was her. 'He is so cute!' she smiled at him and left the hut.

When Kagome got outside, she saw a Panther demon who seemed to be talking to Isane only. Since he was in panther form it sounded more like growling. Isane seemed to be listening intently. "I see. Thank you. Come back if you find out anything else." Isane told the other panther, but he spoke normally. The other panther just nodded and ran away. He turned around to face Kagome. "Hello Kagome. How are you this morning?" Isane spoke in a low voice so that he wouldn't wake anyone inside the hut. 

Kagome was in awe at how beautiful Isane was. He now had his long black hair held back in a braid that went down past his butt. The two small silver streaks in the front were just so perfect on him. 'It is strange though that he would have silver hair at all.' Kagome thought. "I am very well. Thank you for asking. Who was the panther demon that you were talking to?" She asked with a smile. 

"He is the friend that I had watch you and your friends while you recovered." Isane stated also smiling.

"Can I ask you something?" Kagome asked unsure of what would offend him.

"You can ask me anything Kagome. I will gladly answer you but it may be a good idea to go a little farther from the hut so that we don't wake anyone." Kagome nodded and they walked toward the well. 

When they got to the well Kagome sat on the edge and looked down into it. Isane sat on the ground near her. "Well I have so many things to ask you that I don't know where to start." Kagome said and then laughed.

Kagome asked the first thing that came to mind. "Well why is it that you have silver streaks in your hair? I didn't notice last night if you had them in your other form also. Do all Panther demons have them? I didn't see any on the other one." 

"There are only few that have the silver streaks. Only the strongest of us have them. My father had them also. I do have them in demon form but it was dark last night and they aren't very obvious anyway." Isane said and looked at Kagome who seemed to be in thought.

"So you are strong for a panther demon?" Kagome asked while remembering him say he wasn't very strong last night.

"Yes I guess I am. Those who don't have them look up to us as lords but it's not a big deal." Isane said while looking at Kagome.

"Wow so to your people you are like a lord. That's cool." Kagome said and smiled brightly. 

Isane smiled at her 'She is very sweet she kind of reminds me of my mate.' Isane thought and then sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Kagome asked a bit worried by his sudden change in mood.

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When Inuyasha woke up he found himself alone in Kagome's sleeping bag and he was not happy about that. He would have even been worried if he couldn't tell how Kagome was feeling and she seemed to be happy at the moment but she still wasn't with him and he didn't like that. 'Where the hell did she go? She better not be with the Isane guy!' Inuyasha thought while starting to get jealous. Inuyasha had noticed that Sango and Kagome seemed to think this guy was cute and that Kagome seemed a little too friendly with him. He stopped himself there and remembered that she was friendly to everyone. 

Inuyasha ran out of the hut in search for Kagome and was not happy to find that she was not nearby. He followed her scent to the well and saw them talking. They had their backs turned toward him so they had not seen him yet. Inuyasha was not happy that Kagome and some demon they barely knew were off in the woods alone together, but he decided to listen to what they were saying before he got mad at them. They weren't even that close to each other really and they were just talking. 'Why did they come all the way out here if they just wanted to talk?' Inuyasha thought as he watched them. 

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"Is something wrong?" Kagome asked a bit worried by his sudden change in mood.

"No I was just thinking about my mate. You reminded me of her just now. You both were so happy all the time and so sweet no matter what was happening." Isane said and was sure he heard a noise off in the woods but let it go for now.

"You must miss her very much. It sounds like you loved her a lot." Kagome said in a sad tone.

"Yes I loved her more then anything. She was more then just my mate she was my soul mate. I wanted nothing more then to have children with her and spend the rest of my life with her. Nothing would have made me more happy then to look into my child's eyes for the first time." He sighed and looked at the ground. "I don't think I will ever love another. She was my world and to be with someone else wouldn't feel right." Isane looked up into Kagome's eyes now and smiled at her. "You have the same innocence and joy in your eyes that she did and that is what made me think of her. Though not a day goes by that I don't think of her."

"I know how you feel." Kagome said and smiled brightly. "That's how I feel about Inuyasha. If I lost him I don't know what I would do. He means so much to me. I love him more then I ever thought I could love anything. I would love to have his children one day. I mean I am willing to stay here with him and leave my home and it doesn't bother me because I know I will always have him with me. No matter what happens I know Inuyasha will protect me and take care of me for the rest of my life." Kagome blushed as she said this and smiled.

Inuyasha's mouth was on the floor. 'I know I thought she loved me but to hear her say it is so much better. I had no idea she cared that much about me. I can't believe the feeling of love and joy she felt as she said that. It's amazing.' Inuyasha was now smiling in a way that no one had ever seen him do before. It was a dopey grin but Kagome would have loved it had she seen it. 

He had never been so happy before in his life. 

"You and Inuyasha are going to become life mates right?" Isane asked and Kagome nodded. "Why do you have to give up your home to be with Inuyasha? Your family is far away?" Isane asked. His friend had told him something about that well they were sitting on taking Kagome somewhere and she had been gone for a day, but he didn't know where she went or how the well brought her there. "My friend who was watching you told me about you jumping into this well. Where did you go?" 

Kagome wasn't sure at first if she should tell him about her time but since he already knew the well took her somewhere she might as well tell him everything. "Well I am from the future" Isane gave her a funny look but she just continued knowing it must sound strange. "About 500 years in the future. On my 15th birthday I was brought here by a demon who wanted the Shikon jewel which I had inside my body at the time." Kagome continued to tell Isane about the jewel and how she broke it and about being Kikyo's reincarnation and about how Inuyasha was pinned to the tree for 50 years. She told him about how Inuyasha and Kikyo were in love before he was pinned to the tree. She also told him how she met her friends and about why they were after Naraku. She told him what he did to all her friends. Kagome had no idea why she was telling him so much. She trusted him completely but she didn't know why. 

Isane couldn't believe everything she told him but he knew she meant every word of it. "Well I guess I understand why you have to give up your family but you can still see them right? It is very sad that Naraku did such horrible things to you and your friends. I hope that I can help you make him pay for it all." Isane tried to change the sad topic a bit. "So you have been with Inuyasha for two years and you are still not life mates?" 

"Well Inuyasha couldn't seem to get over Kikyo for the longest time. When she was brought back to life he thought he owed her something and he wanted to put her to rest but I couldn't stand watching them together all the time. Even after Kikyo was killed again by Naraku and was gone for good he still couldn't let her go. I never thought that he would move on but he hasn't said anything about her in almost a year. I guess it's easier for him to move on with his life now that she is gone. I know he will always love her and care about her but she is gone and it's me that he wants to be with now." Kagome seemed to now be deep in thought. "To tell you the truth I haven't thought about her much in a long time either. And I know it sounds bad but I think her being gone kind of made everything easier for me." Kagome frowned. "I can't believe I just said that. I am horrible." Kagome said and looked very unhappy.

"You shouldn't feel bad. From what you tell me she was made out of clay and was not really the woman Inuyasha fell in love with anyway. Perhaps it's best that she moved on. Maybe she can be at rest now." Isane said trying to make Kagome feel better.

Inuyasha was still listening to them talk and wasn't happy that they were talking about Kikyo. 'Maybe it is time that I talked to Kagome about Kikyo just so that she understands that she is the one I want and not Kikyo.' Inuyasha thought that he might as well come out and talk to them. Kagome was feeling upset and he wanted to help her.

"I hope she is at rest. I know things are better now that she is gone but I still hope that she is at rest wherever she is now." Kagome didn't really think Kikyo could be happy in hell without Inuyasha but she hoped that she had found some kind of peace."

"You truly are kind Kagome." Isane said and was happy when Kagome smiled again.

They both heard some one coming toward them so they turned to face Inuyasha. Kagome smiled at him and was happy he didn't seem jealous that they were alone together. "Good morning Inuyasha. Did you sleep well?" Kagome asked while smiling. 

"Yeah until I woke up alone." Inuyasha said looking a little like a kid that didn't get what he wanted. "Why are you guys so far away from the hut?"

"We didn't want to wake you guys. You looked so cute sleeping that I just couldn't wake you." Kagome said and then gave Inuyasha a hug forgetting for a moment that Isane was there.

"So just how long were you listening before you came out of the woods Inuyasha? I thought I heard some one earlier." Isane watched Inuyasha put on an innocent face.

"Not long." Inuyasha said but he felt a little nervous about lying and then he remembered that Kagome could tell what he was feeling and looked at her. She seemed embarrassed. 

'I hope Inuyasha didn't hear me tell Isane how I feel about him. I wanted to tell him not have him hear it while I am talking to someone else.' Kagome knew by the fact that Inuyasha was nervous that he had heard more then she would have liked but she let it go for now. 

Isane looked at the two of them and smiled. "Well I am glad you are awake Inuyasha. My friend who has been watching Nakazo has informed me that he is planning another attack on Kagome. We have a few days before he attacks but I think it's best to be ready for it."

"WHAT??? What do you mean he is going to attack Kagome again? Why don't we just go and kill him already so we don't have to worry about it???" Inuyasha was now holding Kagome close to him as if someone was trying to steal her from him.

"It's not that easy Inuyasha. He has strong allies and they will make it hard to get to him. Plus I don't think Kagome is ready yet to kill Nakazo. She is stronger now since you gave her your blood it's true, but she doesn't yet know how to use her powers and to send her into a fight with Nakazo without training could cause her to fail or worse, hurt all of the demons in the area. If she tries to use her powers and she doesn't know how to control them she could even hurt herself. It's best to wait until she is ready. In the meantime we must protect her." Isane gave Inuyasha a serious look that seem to say 'don't question me on this one.' 

"Fine, but if ANYTHING happens to Kagome I am going to make sure _you_ pay for it! What kind of attack is he planning anyway?" Inuyasha asked in an angry tone.

"Inuyasha I will protect Kagome with my life. She is special and I will not let anyone hurt her," Kagome blushed at what Isane said and Inuyasha didn't like it. "As for the attack I am not sure exactly what he is planning because he seems to know I am here with you and he is being more secretive then normal. He seems to think of you all as a great threat, which is a very bad thing. All he could tell me about the attack is that it will be a big one and it will happen wherever you are in two days. If Kagome can learn some control before then it is possible that his attack will do no damage." 

"Why would me having control over my powers stop his attack?" Kagome asked

"Kagome you were a very strong miko before you were given Inuyasha's blood but now you could be an unstoppable miko. You have no idea the kind of power you have. If you could learn how to use and control it even just a little in the next two days you could even put a barrier up so that his attack wouldn't even be able to touch you. I think that once you figure out what you can really do you will realize how strong you are." Isane said almost looking proud.

"You really think I can do all that? I mean I know I am a strong miko but I don't think I can learn to do all that in two days!" Kagome said looking nervous.

"I think you already know how to use your powers at least a little but since they are so much stronger now it should be easier to learn. The more power you have the faster you can learn to use it." Isane said and then looked at Inuyasha who was still holding on to Kagome as if she would be stolen at any moment.

"Well I already asked Miroku and Kaede to help Kagome with her powers anyway." Inuyasha said and looked down at Kagome. "Lets go back we have a lot to do before this fucking asshole Nakazo attacks. We will be ready for him when he comes!" 

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha who was holding her and she felt so safe in his arms. "As long as you are with me I know everything will be alright Inuyasha." Kagome said and then blushed. Inuyasha then kissed her lightly on the lips not caring that Isane was there. 

They all walked back to the village to prepare to start the fight against Nakazo. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ok well that was chapter 9 I hope you liked it even though not much happened. More will happen in the next chapter I promise. The gang will finally meet Nakazo in chapter 10 or 11. Well that's it for now. I will update as soon as I can. 

Thanks for all the reviews I loved them all! You guys are great. 

Thanks to jazzcat1227 for proof-reading this chapter. Oh and just so you all know, jazzcat1227 is my b/f. : D


	10. Nakazo Revealed

Chapter 10- Nakazo Revealed 

It had been a week since Isane told them Nakazo was going to attack, but he had as yet made no moves. Kagome had been training every day with Miroku and Kaede, endeavoring to get her powers under control. They assured her that she was doing very well, but Kagome didn't think so. Though she learned new abilities quickly, she still had trouble with her control. Kagome just had too much power for her to handle so quickly. She knew that she would have to stay calm or she could hurt those she cared for. 

Isane had not gotten any further word from his friend about Nakazo since he was told of the coming attack. He was worried and thought it would be good to check it out. Every one had agreed that it was best if he went alone. It would be easier for him to watch unnoticed alone. But that had been 2 days ago and he had not returned either. 

Kagome was worried about her powers and the fact that Isane was missing. Inuyasha was going crazy not knowing when Nakazo was going to attack. Everyone was tense. Something needed to be done or they would all go crazy. They were always on alert. They watched over Kagome as if she would break if they looked away for a second. 

Kagome sighed; she could feel how tense Inuyasha was, and it was very unsettling. She walked over to where Inuyasha sat, laying her hand on his shoulder. "I am sure Isane will be back soon. Don't worry so much. If something happen, I know you can protect me." She smiled brightly at him. 

He couldn't help but calm a bit at her soft reassuring words, but he was still concerned for Kagome. Inuyasha stood up and hugged Kagome tightly. 'I can't let anything happen to her. Not now that we are finally together,' Inuyasha thought sadly. Kagome of course could sense that he was sad and held him tighter. "I just don't want you to get hurt again," he said softly so that only she could hear him. 

"I know, Inuyasha." She paused, looked up into his loving eyes and smiled. "I…." She was about to tell him that she loved him and trusted him with her life completely. But, as usual, something always got in the way. She turned to hear Sango yelling at Miroku about touching her at a time like this. She sighed again and turned to watch, as did Inuyasha.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood." Miroku said while inching closer to Sango once again. She held Hiraikotsu over her head as if to say 'go ahead I dare ya'. Miroku stopped then turned to Kagome. "Would you like to learn more about making barriers today Kagome?" he asked, smiling. 

As it was early morning and they had already eaten breakfast, it was time to train as usual. Kagome nodded and walked toward the perverted monk. 

Inuyasha did not look happy as Kagome walked away. He looked up at the sky and frowned. Kagome turned back toward Inuyasha quickly. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?" she asked, her voice full of worry.

"The new moon is 2 days away," he said. It was all he had to say for her to know why he was upset. He would be human on the night of the new moon, and consequently, wouldn't be available to help protect her if Nakazo attacked on that night. 

"Don't worry, Inuyasha. Now that Kagome is learning how to make barriers and how to purify with her hands the fight will be much easier. Kagome may not be able to kill him yet, but she can certainly keep him away," Miroku said, brimming with pride over how strong Kagome was becoming. 

Inuyasha just turned and walked toward Sango who wore her fighting clothes. "I hope you are right," he said to them. 

They began to train, as they had become accustomed to doing over the past week. Kagome and Miroku had become much closer in that time. Since they spent so much time together, they would talk about Sango and Inuyasha whenever they took a break. Kaede would also help, but most of Kagome's training came from Miroku. 

Sango spent the time training, as well, but she was training to be faster and stronger. She and Inuyasha had been training together a lot lately and were also becoming closer. Inuyasha seemed to enjoy the fights with Sango. She was fairly strong for a human. They would also talk on breaks, but they spoke mainly about fighting and weapons.

Shippo and Kirara seemed to spend most of their time playing or sleeping. They also liked to watch the training in progress. Kagome and Miroku were near Inuyasha and Sango, but sufficiently far away to make it quiet for Kagome's training. They placed scrolls as a barrier around Kaede's village to insure nothing was going to sneak up on them. Miroku had to use scrolls to place a barrier, but Kagome could now do it without them. She was getting much better at it. 

After 2 hours of training, Miroku said they should take a break and eat something. Kagome agreed and they headed toward the others to get some food. Just as Kagome was about to start cooking some ramen for everyone, Isane showed up in Panther form. Kagome knew it was he because of the silver on his face. He quickly turned into a human like form and everyone could see blood all over his clothes and face. Even the black clothes he wore were covered in blood. He looked upset. 

"ISANE! Are you ok?" Kagome yelled as she ran to him, trying to see why there was blood all over him. 

"I am fine, but the one that was watching Nakazo is dead. I found him bleeding to death near Nakazo's old campsite. He tried to tell me something about a binding spell but he didn't get to say much before he died in my arms." Isane's voice was full of hate as he spoke. You could see the anger in his eyes. It distressed Kagome to see him this way. 

"I am sorry." She put her hand on his arm. 

"Thank you, Kagome. I will be all right. However now I have no idea what Nakazo is planning or when he will come. I don't know what the panther meant by a binding spell but it must have been very important, since he used his last breath to try and tell me about it." Isane was very worried for Kagome. "Kagome, how are you coming along in your training?" He had a hopeful look in his eyes as he asked.

"I am getting better, but I still need time before I am ready." Kagome was very upset. Everyone was counting on her. 'What if I fail and let everyone down?' Kagome was nearly in tears.

Inuyasha put his arm around Kagome, knowing that she was upset. Miroku looked deep in thought. "You said the panther told you something about a binding spell. Did he say anything more then that?" Miroku asked 

"He barely said that. His exact words were 'You have to stop him before he gets the binding spell or all is lost.' That was all he said before he died." Isane looked sad once again.

"That's horrible." Kagome said, looking upset and holding onto Inuyasha tighter. 

"But what could he be trying to bind?" Miroku thought out loud. "This can't be good. Perhaps we should start looking for him before he can get this spell."

"I have looked everywhere already. He seems to have just vanished." Isane said mournfully.

"I guess he is more like his father then we thought," Sango said with hatred in her voice. 

"I do not know much about Naraku himself, only his son. I do know that it is well for us that they do not get along, for together, they would be unstoppable." Isane started to walk toward the lake so he could wash the blood off himself. "I will be back shortly." 

The others nodded, looking at each other sadly. Kagome was happy that Shippo was sleeping and had not heard the conversation. She knew he was already worried about her, and she didn't want to make it worse.

Inuyasha was angry. "I knew we should have gone after him when we had the chance!!" he yelled, holding Kagome closely against his side.

"Inuyasha, if we had gone against him too soon, we could have all been killed. There is no way we could have known he was going to get some kind of binding spell," Sango said while moving to hold onto Miroku's arm. She was upset and worried for her friend and for herself. Miroku held her tightly and made no move to grope her. 

"She is right, Inuyasha. Let's just continue our training as usual for now, so we are ready for him when he comes." Miroku said solemnly. 

'Everyone is counting on me. I have to continue training! I can beat him!' Kagome thought and then moved away from Inuyasha. "He is right. Let's continue training." She walked to Miroku, and she put an arm on Sango who was in his arms. "It's going to be ok," she said to the worried woman, only a year older than herself. Sango nodded and moved toward Inuyasha.

"We should train also. And when Isane gets back, maybe he will join us," Sango said to Inuyasha. He nodded, and they moved to what was becoming their normaltraining place. 

'In 2 days, I will be useless. What if he knows of my human night. Then we are all in trouble,' Inuyasha thought angrily.

When Isane came back, he joined the training going on. However, he was training with Kirara, instead of the others. He turned back into a Panther and they fought in that form. It was good training. Shippo just watched everyone after he had been awakened by all the noise. Everyone seemed to have forgotten all about lunch. He sighed. 'They must be really worried if Inuyasha turned down ramen.' Shippo thought. He had tears in his eyes, but decided to train also. He started to practice his 'Fox Fire' on a rock. 

Kaede watched them all.  She had also heard what Isane said, and it worried her to no end. She had to find out what he was trying to bind and quickly. She went inside to think. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Two days passed and nothing had happened. Inuyasha was very worried now. In a half hour he would be human, and there was nothing he could do to help the others. He looked at the setting sun as if it were the cause of all his problems. Kagome had trained hard, being more determined then ever to gain control of her powers. She was doing very well. In fact, Miroku thought she was strong enough now to fight against Nakazo and win without losing control of her powers. He was impressed and proud of her. 

Miroku put a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Do not worry. I am confident of Kagome's abilities. She will be able to take care of herself if he comes tonight. We may need you to kill him, but she can hurt him enough to keep him away."

Inuyasha still looked worried as he watched everyone make preparations, just in case Nakazo came that night. Miroku and Kaede would be enforcing the barrier as best they could around the village and Kagome had her bow and arrows ready too. Sango was ready to fight, holding her boomerang. Even the villagers were gathering, with whatever weapons they could find to help Kagome and the others, including pitchforks and scythes. 

"About a half hour to go, right?" Kagome asked Inuyasha. He nodded. "You know he may not come tonight at all." She said and he again just nodded slowly. She sighed. She had a bad feeling about this. 

Inuyasha looked into her beautiful eyes. "You know it's not too late to just go through the well and stay in your time for the night."

"No, I won't run. If I leave, then he will still come, and our friends will have to face him alone. They need me here with them. Besides, I know you wouldn't leave them and I won't leave you." Kagome said sternly. He just nodded again. 

"I understand." He half smiled. The sun was going down further, and he could feel his powers slipping away. Everyone was about to take their places defending Kagome and the others, when there was a long bang. Inuyasha turned his head toward the noise and began to run in that direction. "Kagome stay here!" he yelled and ran the other way with Sango at his side. 

Miroku and Kaede started to chant, so the barrier would be stronger. Kagome was scared and she wanted to stay near Inuyasha. Isane was now in Panther form with green poison dripping from his fangs and claws. He must have smelled Nakazo, she thought. She was now on alert. The sun was going down. 'Inuyasha, be careful!!' she thought sadly. 

Suddenly the barrier broke, and Miroku and Kaede were thrown hard to the ground. Kagome looked everywhere, but saw no one. Then she heard a disgusting laugh coming from behind her. It was _him_. It had to be! She turned, as did the others still by her side. He was floating in the air with a barrier all around him just like his father. He even looked just like Naraku, except that his black hair had bits of silver, most likely from his mother. Also his hair was straight, and much longer than Naraku's. He also had pointed ears, as a full demon would, fangs and claws. He was bigger then Naraku, too. His eyes were black and they were so cold. She didn't think that even Naraku had ever scared her as much as his son did right now. 

  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Inuyasha and Sango were fighting off random demons that were attacking the village and were trying to fight their way back to Kagome. "This is a trick! He wanted us away from her! SHIT!" Inuyasha cried out as the last of his demon blood slipped away. He was human now, but he could still feel Kagome's emotions, and it worried him to feel how scared she was right then. "We have to get back to her now!" he yelled, and Sango nodded to him, but there wasn't much she could do. There were so many demons, and Inuyasha was no longer able to use Tetsusaiga. Kagome was on her own. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Isane jumped at Nakazo, but was repelled by the barrier. He fell hard to the ground. Kagome shot an arrow at the barrier and managed to puncture a hole in it. Isane used the opportunity to attack again and was able to strike once before Nakazo stabbed him with his sword. Isane fell to the ground, unable to fight for the moment. Nakazo was able to repair his barrier quickly, before Kagome shot another arrow. He sent a blast of power toward her, then barely got away before it hit. She placed a barrier around her and her friends. Miroku was now up and standing next to Kagome. "Is Kaede ok?" she asked, and he looked upset.

"She will be out for a while," he said looking at his new enemy. 

Nakazo laughed again and watched them closely. "You think you are going to be able to kill me little miko?" he came closer. He put out his hand and was repelled by the barrier Kagome made. "Not bad. You're learning fast, aren't you little miko?" He grinned at her. 

Kagome felt as if she was going to be sick. Something was wrong.  He was too confident and Inuyasha had not returned. 'The sun was already down. Where is he?' she wondered. 

Out of nowhere a woman came up behind Nakazo.  She seemed to have great power. She was also floating in the air with a barrier around her, but hers was black, and she looked as scary as Nakazo himself. She was human from the looks of it and beautiful too. She was definitely evil. 

"Let's see how my little miko fares against my dark miko." He grinned again and started to laugh. 

The woman spread her arms and chanted some kind of spell. She was holding what looked like one of Miroku's scrolls. "This is not good," Miroku stated the obvious. He was also worried about Sango, but he could do nothing for her now. 

The woman was able to break through Kagome's barrier and came right up to Kagome. She sent a dark blast all around her that bowled over everyone except Kagome and the dark miko. The only reason Kagome still stood was her powers. Kagome was sure she was stronger than the dark miko, and she was correct, but she was not prepared for what happened next.

Kagome glared at the dark miko, but she just smiled at her. "Time to lose those powers little girl!" she yelled and quickly placed the scroll she had been chanting with, on Kagome's chest right over the jewel shards. 

Kagome screamed in pain as black energy surrounded her. She couldn't move and all her miko powers seemed to be drained. She was helpless! "What did you do to me??" she yelled weakly, having no strength for anything else. 

"I have bound your powers, now be a good girl and come with us." She smiled and laughed along side Nakazo. She used her powers to pull Kagome to her and they all vanished. 

Miroku got up, but he was too late. He was hurt, but he ran to try to find Kagome. He saw her nowhere. "They are gone!" He had a look of horror on his face. Everyone around him was knocked out. He was awake only because of his powers. He wanted to help the fallen, but instead decided to find Sango and Inuyasha. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Inuyasha was bleeding badly now, due to the wounds the demons had caused and Sango wasn't in much better shape. They were hurt and tired and there were still so many demons left. "We have to get to Kagome! She is scared.  I feel it!" Inuyasha had never felt Kagome so scared. Something bad was happening to her and he couldn't help. He felt useless.

Miroku showed up, then limping as fast as he could. "SANGO! INUYASHA!" He yelled as they came into view. "HOLD ON!" they both did as told and held onto whatever they could. "KAAZANA!!!" He shouted and sucked away the remaining demons. "Are you both ok?" he asked worriedly. 

"We are fine. WHERE IS KAGOME??" Inuyasha yelled. He was very worried now. 'Why isn't she with him?'

"Inuyasha…I am sorry. I could not protect her." Miroku looked away from them both.

"WHAT????? I know she's not dead I can still feel her!" Inuyasha spat his words. 

"She is not dead. He took her. A dark miko came and bound Kagome's powers. They took her and she could not fight back. She is helpless!" Miroku was very upset. 

"FUCK! I should have been there! This can't be happening!" Inuyasha fell to the ground. "KAGOME!!!!" He yelled into the air, knowing she could no longer hear him. 'Please be ok Kagome. I will get you back if it's the last thing I do. Just hang on'

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Well I hope you like it. A bit of a cliffhanger I guess. Sorry.

This chapter was proof read by both Jazzcat1227 and Bonnie217 so there should be NO mistakes! If there are let me know. ^_^ 


	11. A race against time

Chapter 11- A race against time 

By the way, in case you didn't know, I do NOT own Inuyasha and I never will!

"Inuyasha…I am sorry. I could not protect her." Miroku looked away from them both.

"WHAT????? I know she's not dead. I can still feel her!" Inuyasha spat his words. 

"She is not dead. He took her. A dark miko came and bound Kagome's powers. They took her and she could not fight back. She is helpless!" Miroku was very upset. 

"FUCK! I should have been there! This can't be happening!" Inuyasha fell to the ground. "KAGOME!!!!" he yelled into the air, knowing she could no longer hear him. 'Please be ok, Kagome. I will get you back if it's the last thing I do. Just hang on'

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It had taken a lot of convincing to keep Inuyasha from trying to follow Nakazo immediately. Inuyasha wanted to find Kagome so badly, but the others were able to remind him of what he already knew - he would never be able to find Kagome that night. He was still human, and he, along with every one else, was hurt. However, no matter what the others told him, Inuyasha refused to sleep. He couldn't stop worrying about Kagome, and it upset him even more that he could no long tell what she was feeling. She was most likely unconscious now. 

Together, Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku helped everyone that was hurt as best they could, having to contend with being hurt themselves. Luckily, no one had been killed. Inuyasha and Isane had the most serious injuries, and they would recover in a day or two at most. Isane had bled a lot and was still unconscious, but when he did awaken, he would be in serious trouble, judging by the way Inuyasha was glaring at his sleeping form. 

'Kagome, please be all right! I will come for you as soon as I can.' Inuyasha thought sadly as the sun started to rise. He felt his powers returning, which was fortuitous, as he was hurt quite badly. It was then as Inuyasha's demon blood started to return, that he remembered what Myouga had told him not long ago. 'I am so stupid. I didn't even think about that!' he mentally berated himself.

**_FLASH BACK…………….._**

_"Share my blood? If that's what I have to do, then that's fine with me" Inuyasha went to run back into the hut when the flea yelled at him._

_ "WAIT my lord! There is more to it, than just giving her your blood. You have to give her a lot of your blood to help her, which will knock you out in the process. She may not even survive; it is very painful for humans.  She may not be able to handle the changes, but, since she is a miko, she should be ok. Also, once you do this, you and she will be bound to each other forever, or until one of you dies! This would make Kagome live the same life span as a hanyou. She would still be a human, of course, but she would heal faster and be stronger then most humans. In addition, her miko powers might become more powerful also. However, it means that you and Kagome can never leave each other's side for more than a few days at a time.  After that, you will start to feel the pain of withdrawal from your blood, and so will she. It will get more painful by the hour after it starts; if you are not back together within 24 hours after the pain starts you will both die! Another side effect of doing this is that you will know what the other is feeling at all times. This means that if you feel sad, no matter how far apart you are, she will know. Are you ready to let her know how you are feeling at all times my lord?" Myouga sounded a little worried as he said these things, but watched Inuyasha closely to see his reaction. _

****

**_END FLASH BACK………._**

****

****

"SHIT!" Inuyasha said, loudly enough to wake Miroku and Sango. They sat up quickly, from where they slept within Kaede's hut. 

"What is it, Inuyasha? What happened?" Miroku asked looking worried. After what had occurred the previous night, he was on edge. 

"We have to find Kagome right now!" Inuyasha yelled, as the last of his demon blood reentered his body. He was healing quickly now, and would be able to search for Kagome, but he was not yet at full strength and he knew it. 

"Inuyasha, I agree that we must find Kagome as soon as possible. However if we rush out to find Nakazo when we are not well enough, we won't be able to help her! Please be calm for a little longer. At least wait until Isane is up. He may be able to help us figure out where to find Kagome."  Miroku said in a stern voice. Sango looked worried. Miroku could tell that Sango wanted to run out and find Kagome as badly as Inuyasha did. 

"Look I don't have time to waste sitting around here waiting for everyone to be better! Don't you remember what Myouga told us?! If Kagome is away from me for too long we both die!!" Inuyasha was mad, worried and somewhat scared. He needed to find Kagome. "If I have to go alone, then I will! I am not leaving her with that asshole any longer than I have to!" he added. 

"Inuyasha is correct.  If he and Kagome are not together within a few days, they could both die! We have to find her as soon as possible!" Sango had tears in her eyes, but held them back. She didn't have time to cry right now; she needed to find Kagome. Kagome was like a sister to her and Sango couldn't lose her. 

Inuyasha walked over to where Isane slept. His wounds seemed to be healing well. Inuyasha yelled in his ear "WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Isane jumped up and then winced in pain. He had transformed back into his human like form after being stabbed and knocked unconscious the night before.

"What happened? Where is Kagome??" Isane said looking around, confused. He did not know what was going on and stood up slowly, despite the pain.

"SHE WAS FUCKING TAKEN BY NAKAZO!! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?" Inuyasha spat at Isane. He was beyond angry now. "You said that you would help protect her! You said that she would be able to keep him from hurting her! You promised me that she would not be hurt!" Inuyasha stormed

Isane looked sad and deep in thought. "Why would he take Kagome? Why not just kill her? Unless….." his beautiful green eyes widened with a look of horror on his face. 

"UNLESS WHAT????????" Inuyasha looked ready to kill.

"Well, he needs Kagome to kill Naraku. It is possible he intends to turn Kagome evil in order to get her to help him. If he can do that, then they would be unstoppable!" He looked away from the group. 'I should have been able to help her more than I did. I didn't even get to hit him more then once! What good am I?' Isane thought sadly.

"KAGOME WILL NOT TURN EVIL!! There is no way he could do that to her! She is too pure!" Inuyasha yelled at Isane, who still would not look at him.

"I hope you are right, Inuyasha, because Nakazo would be far too strong with her as an ally. I know she is pure, but if the shards she has become tainted, there is no telling what it would do to her. The jewel is very strong." Isane said.

Inuyasha grabbed Isane's hair and pulled it, causing him to look Inuyasha in the eyes. "WHERE THE HELL DID HE TAKE HER?" 

"I am not sure. I have not been able to find him since I came to talk with your group the first time." Isane thought for a moment. "If we knew what direction he was going, perhaps we could find his scent and follow it from there."

"Well they headed in that direction." Miroku pointed to the place he last saw Kagome. "However they disappeared, so who knows where they are now," He was upset about losing Kagome. 'All that training, and she never got to use it,' he thought sadly. 

"He disappeared? Hmmm" Isane turned in the direction Miroku pointed. "I know that trick. He used it on me many times when we were young. He can't have gone far that way. If we follow that direction we should come across her scent soon. Maybe once we get closer, Inuyasha will be able to sense where she is."

"Fine. We are leaving now!" Inuyasha said, then looked at Shippo who was sitting in the corner of the hut. He hadn't slept all night either. He didn't even talk. He was too upset about Kagome being gone and him not being able to help her. "Shippo, I want you to stay here."

Shippo sniffled. He had been crying all night quietly. "No! I want to help!" he yelled.

"You are needed here. The injured need help. Can you do that?" Miroku asked, hoping that would keep Shippo from feeling left out and also from being hurt. 

"Yes, I will help here until every one is well. But you had better bring Kagome back, Inuyasha!! Or I will never forgive you!" Shippo added that last part to show how much he missed her. 

"Feh! As if I would come back without her!" was all Inuyasha said before turning around and heading out of the hut. The others followed him slowly. They were still hurting. Sango was the worst at the moment. She was in no condition to be fighting, but she said nothing about it. 

"Sango, perhaps you should stay here with Shippo and help the others. You are still hurt." Miroku said what Sango had been hoping he wouldn't. 

"NO! I will not leave Kagome with Nakazo! I am fine! I will ride Kirara, don't worry about me. Let's go," Sango said, as she got onto Kirara, who hadn't been seriously injured in the fight. Kirara had been helping Inuyasha and Sango during the fight, but most of the demons had been focused on the others, not on her. 

Inuyasha didn't say anything as Isane turned back into a panther and walked beside him. Isane was moving slowly, but he would be ok. He wanted to help Kagome. Inuyasha had nothing against Isane, and in truth he even was starting think of him as a member of the group, but right now his thoughts were only of Kagome. 

"Do you smell him at all?" Inuyasha asked the panther, who shook his head no. "Neither do I. We have to find her, we don't have time to run around in any direction. There has to be another way to find her, damn it!" Inuyasha said as he started to run in the direction Kagome was last seen. The others followed at his pace with Miroku riding Kirara beside Sango. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kagome awoke in a dark room in what appeared to be a hut.  However it was much bigger than an ordinary hut. She looked around her, trying to understand where she was. 

"Inuyasha?" she called out, hoping he would hear her and tell her that everything was all right. She hoped that everything that had happened the night before had been just a nightmare, but she was wrong. Inuyasha didn't answer; in fact no one did. Kagome stood up, noticing the bit of sunlight coming into the room. She walked toward the light, and saw it was a window, with a cloth over it. She moved the cloth and looked outside. The sun was shining brightly. She could see grass and trees, but nothing other than that. 

 'Is it morning already? How long have I been sleeping?! Where am I??' Kagome became scared as she realized that she didn't know where she was, or what was happening.  She ran toward the door to leave. It was also covered with a cloth and she moved it away and went outside. Kagome didn't get far however.

"And where do you think you're going?" came a woman's voice.

Kagome knew this voice, as she had heard the creepy woman talking to her the night before. Kagome turned around and saw the dark miko sitting on a rock not far from the hut. She looked bored. 

"I…um…where am I?" Kagome asked, unsure of what to do.

"You are within Nakazo's home, though he does not come here much. He lived here with his mother, I believe. Not that it matters anyway. You aren't going anywhere until he says so," the dark miko said, with the look of boredom still on her face. 

"I don't understand. Why did he bring me here??" Kagome asked, sounding desperate. She knew she could not use her powers, and without them she could do nothing to stop Nakazo. 'I hope Inuyasha is doing better than I am. I know he is still alive. I can feel he is angry and even a bit scared' she thought, waiting for the very annoyed dark miko to respond. 

"That you will have to ask him. I don't know, nor do I care. He told me to watch you and make sure you don't leave and that's what I am doing. Now if you would just shut up and go back inside, it would make my job a lot easier." Then the dark miko yawned. 

"MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER??? You are joking right? You expect me to just go inside and be quiet????" Kagome yelled loudly. The dark miko did not seem to appreciate it. 

"If you have a problem with that, then I will just have to make you go back inside!" She spat at Kagome, then jumped off the rock where she had been perched. 

Kagome decided her best course was to run, hoping to find Inuyasha. So she turned around and ran with her new faster speed, but she only got about 10 feet away when the same black energy from the night before surrounded her.  Kagome screamed in pain and fell to her knees. The pain stopped and she turned to see the dark miko laughing at her. 

"Did you really think it would be that easy??" She laughed louder. "You thought you could just run away?" 

"It was worth a try!" Kagome said angrily. "What the hell are you doing to me anyway??"

"The energy that keeps you from moving is caused from the scroll on your chest. Or did you forget that your powers were bound?" She laughed again. 'At least I am not as bored at the moment,' she thought and smiled. 

Kagome reached up and touched the scroll, which was hanging over the jewel shards, so that she couldn't see them. Her hand snapped back. It was like touching fire. "Take this thing off me now! When Inuyasha finds you he is going to rip you apart!" Kagome snapped. She couldn't believe she'd said that, but she had meant it and hoped Inuyasha would be there soon to make good on her threat. Yet again the dark miko was laughing at her. How a person could go from completely bored to having the time of her life so quickly was beyond Kagome. She sighed, waiting for what she knew would come.

"You really thought you could just take the scroll off??? HAHAHA" The dark miko was now enjoying herself. "You should know by now that nothing is as simple as it seems when it comes to Nakazo. He is very good at deceiving people. If I were you, I would keep that in mind," the dark miko said, with a serious look on her face. 

'Is she trying to help me? No, that can't be right. Though she reminds me of Kagura the way she just follows his orders without care as to why. Maybe he has a hold over her somehow,' Kagome thought. "Why are you helping Nakazo? What is in it for you?" 

"That is none of your business! If I were you, I would go inside, as I told you to do, before I decide to cause you some more pain with the scroll on your chest." She smiled.

"How did you bind my powers anyway? I didn't think it was possible to do such a thing. It must require a lot of power to do" Kagome said, hoping that flattery would get her an answer, and it did. The dark miko was so easy to predict, it was sad. 

"Yes, it does require a lot of power by the caster. I have great powers, and that spell is increasable in itself. I do not need to do anything to keep your powers bound, It does it all by itself. The black energy, however, I DO control, so don't piss me off." The dark miko grinned evilly. "We were told of the spell by an ally of ours and had been trying to find the one who created it ever since Isane came to your group about our plans. The creator, however, is dead now, but we got what we needed from him." Another evil grin crossed her lips. "Not that knowing any of this will help you in any way. You still cannot remove the spell. In fact since _I _put it on you, _I _am the only one who can remove it. Now go back inside. Nakazo will be coming soon for you, I am sure." 

The dark miko climbed back on her rock and looked bored again. "By the way, there is a spell covering the windows and all other ways of leaving this hut. If you try to leave you will regret it." She leaned back on the rock and sighed. 'He better come soon. I don't like being a babysitter,' she thought unhappily.

Kagome frowned at her, thinking it was probably best not to try and run away again, since she wouldn't get far without pain. "I am hungry." Kagome told the dark miko, realizing that she didn't know the other's name. 

"There is food in the hut. If you had looked around a bit more before you tried to run away, you would know that," she replied, lying on the rock, still not looking at Kagome.

Kagome nodded and went back inside. 'Maybe she is lying about the spell around the hut. It's worth a try, right?' she thought to herself, as she reached up and tried to place her arm outside the window, which suddenly appeared to be more like a hole in the wall with a cloth over it than a window. Kagome was thrown backwards and hit the ground hard. 'Guess she wasn't lying. Ow,' she thought, rubbing her backside.

She heard laughing from outside. "I told you so! Maybe next time you will listen to me!" She laughed again before becoming quiet. 

Kagome looked around the hut and saw the food the miko had spoken of. It was some fruit. 'This will do, I guess. I wonder if it's ok to eat this. I guess he wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of bringing me here if he was going to poison me,' Kagome thought as she ate some. 'I hope Inuyasha finds me soon.'

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After 4 hours of traveling, Inuyasha finally felt Kagome awaken and she didn't seem happy. Now that he could sense her feelings, he had an idea of the direction they were coming from, thanks to Kagome having his blood now. 

"I think we are going the right way. I can tell Kagome is awake now. She seems to be angry and worried. I think I may be able to find her by sensing her," Inuyasha said, a bit more hopeful.

"Inuyasha, we need to rest for a bit. Kirara needs to, at least, get something to drink. We are still hurt and Isane doesn't look so good. Now that we have a better idea of where she is, can we at least eat something?" Miroku asked. He was worried about Sango, who didn't look good. She had lost a lot of blood the night before and hurt her left arm pretty badly as well.

Inuyasha didn't like the idea of stopping, since it seemed that Kagome was still far away, but he too needed to rest for a bit. "Fine.  We can stop to eat, but that's all. And then we move out!" 

"Inuyasha is right; we need to hurry. We are in a race against time. We may be more then a day away from them by now and we can't afford to have Inuyasha and Kagome separated that long," Sango said, but she was also in pain. She did need to rest for a bit.

Isane, now in his more human form, sat down beside Sango. He was in a lot of pain, but since he was a demon his wounds were healing quickly. "Inuyasha, what do you expect to do when we find her? We will not be able to just walk right up to her and take her back. He is strong, as are his allies. We may have met one, but there are others that are even worse than she is. We are not prepared for such a fight at the moment."

"I know that! But what do you want me to do? Leave her there???" Inuyasha spat at Isane angrily. "We will figure it out when we get there. For now I just want to find her," he said, a bit more quietly. 

Miroku stood and opened Kagome's yellow bag, which they had brought along with them to carry supplies. He pulled out some ramen and handed it to Inuyasha, then went to start a fire. Kirara was in her smaller form sleeping. She was tired and they were not nearly done for the day yet. 

'Kagome, you had better be alright!' Inuyasha thought to himself as if she could hear him. 'We are going to find you soon.' Even the ramen he held in his hand didn't help to make him feel any better. He was lost without her. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Well that is chapter 11. Sorry it took so long to put it up but I have been busy. I will try to write the next chapter this weekend. 

This chapter was proof read by Bonnie217. 


	12. More allies

Chapter 12- More allies 

I do not own Inuyasha but I do own Isane and Nakazo! ^_^

Kagome looked out the window at the sun rising and sighed. She had been in this hut far from all her friends for an entire day now, and she was beginning to worry that she would never get away. She had tried to talk to the dark miko and attempted to escape a few more times during the night. Nothing seemed to work. She was trapped. 

Kagome walked to the entrance of the hut and saw the dark miko again sitting on that same rock. She only left her position to get Kagome food.  At those times, she would put a spell on the hut to keep Kagome inside. She looked very bored. 

"Hello," Kagome called, as if she weren't there as a captive. "Nice day, isn't it?" Kagome asked calmly. 

The dark miko only looked at her for a moment, and then rolled her eyes. "Is it? How would I know? I have been too busy watching over you to notice." She sounded somewhat angry, while remaining bored.

Kagome was getting good at guessing what would upset her. After all, Kagome had nothing better to do, and this dark miko was fairly predicable. "Well, you don't have to stay here, you know. You could be out doing something fun. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Kagome said this more to annoy the dark miko than for any other reason, and it succeeded, of course. Kagome grinned at the disgruntled woman. 

"Oh, yeah, as if I can just walk away and leave you here! As if Nakazo wouldn't kill me for that." The dark miko sighed in frustration. 

"Well it was worth a try, right?" The slightly older looking woman rolled her eyes again. "By the way, I never did ask your name. What is it?" Kagome asked kindly. 

"Why would you want to know my name? And why are you being nice when I am holding you here against your will?!" The dark miko all but spat at Kagome. 

"Well, there isn't much I can do about your keeping me here for now, and I guess you aren't being too bad. I mean you haven't hurt me except when I try to leave, and you bring me food. I would just like to know your name.  Is that such a big deal?" 

"Yes it is. Not many people care what my name is. And not many people are nice to me either." The dark miko responded, with a sad voice, but with a blank expression on her face.

"Well I can't imagination why people don't like a dark miko! HA! Maybe if you tried being nice to them they might be nice to you. Did you ever think of that?" Kagome all but yelled at her. 

"You know nothing about me! And you know nothing about my life, so shut the fuck up!! I was good once and people like you shunned me! No matter how hard I tried, everyone just turned their back on me in the end! I don't care about people or anything else!!" Now she was angry and Kagome could, literally, see it. The dark miko was glowing with black energy.  

'Interesting. It looks as if I hit a nerve,' Kagome thought to herself. For some reason, this woman didn't scare her anymore in the least. Kagome did not move when the dark miko came close to her face with a deadly glare and black energy all around her.

 "You are right. I don't know you, but whatever happened to you couldn't have been so bad that you gave up all hope. You must still have some good within you. I won't believe that you are all bad! I can't." Her voice softened when she said the last part.

"If you believe that, then you are more pathetic than I thought." She turned away from Kagome, who was now very close to her. 'Why does this girl care about my name or my past?' she sighed. "My name is Yuma. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to sit on my rock, until I die of boredom!" She climbed onto the rock once more and sat there with a blank stare. 

"If that's what you really want." Kagome turned, sat down in the doorway, and put her head on her knees. 'This is going to be another long day, I can tell already.' 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The group searching for Kagome stopped for the night, feeling a bit more rested in the morning. As soon as the sun was up, Inuyasha had all but forced them to awaken and continue looking for Kagome. The only reason they had gotten him to stop in the first place had been because it was dark and much harder to see. 

"How are you feeling, Sango? Any better since you got some rest?" Miroku asked.  He and Sango were both riding on Kirara. He was worried about her, since she was still hurt from the fight not long ago. 

Sango turned back to look at him and smiled a bit. "I am feeling much better. Thanks."

Miroku wrapped his arms around her waist. "I am glad." Sango was blushing now. 

Sango was healing, but she had to be careful not to reopen her cuts. There was only one that was worrying her though. She still had a deep gash on right hip. One of the demons had gotten her badly there with his claws. It had stopped bleeding long ago, but if it reopened, she would be of no help to the others. She sighed, then. Glanced around to see where Inuyasha was below them. 

Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks. So did everyone else when they noticed. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?" asked Miroku looking worried. 

Isane, however, was the one to answer. "Two demons are approaching, fast." He was remaining in human form as they traveled most of the time now, so he could tell someone immediately if he sensed Nakazo. 

Inuyasha growled a bit, but didn't seem to move at all. He knew who the demons were. Isane quickly reached for his sword.  Inuyasha put his hand over the sword and shook his head. Isane just as quickly put it away. 

"You know who it is?" Isane asked, but got no answer.

By this time, everyone else could see the two whirlwinds approaching. They stopped right in front of Inuyasha.

"Kouga, Ayame? What are you two doing here?" Miroku asked as Kirara landed.  He and Sango hurriedly dismounted. 

"Just passing by when we smelled you guys. Why are you here? Is Naraku nearby?" Ayame asked, while holding onto Kouga's arm.  This caught every one attention. 

Sango whispered in Miroku's ear, "are they together now?" Miroku shrugged and looked at them. 

"Seems that way, doesn't it?" He smiled at her and she giggled.

"You know we can hear you," Ayame stated calmly. 

"Oh sorry!" Miroku laughed nervously. "And no, Naraku is not nearby. Or at least, I don't think so. We are here looking for Kagome." He was now serious again. 

"What do you mean, you are looking for Kagome?? Why isn't she with you?" Kouga all but yelled, while glaring at Inuyasha.

"She was taken by Nakazo. He is Naraku's son. We are not sure what he wishes to do with her yet, but we must find her. We don't have much more time," Isane stated sadly.

"Who the hell are you, and since when does Naraku have a son?? Who would ever mate with him??" Kouga looked nauseated momentarily. 

Sango stepped forward and briefly explained everything to Kouga about Nakazo and Isane, mentioning the whole battle they had just fought. Kouga looked upset, but determined for some reason. Inuyasha had not said a word, he just watched Kouga closely. Ayame looked upset at what she heard, then shook her head.

"I won't let that asshole hurt Kagome! We will find her! Come on Ayame." She nodded to Kouga.  They appeared set to leave in search of Kagome, even though they had no idea where to look.  

Inuyasha put his hand on Kouga's chest, so he couldn't leave. "YOU will NOT go looking for Kagome! That is MY job! She is not yours, and she NEVER will be! Just go the fuck away!" Inuyasha screamed, directly in Kouga's face.

Kouga sighed. "I know Kagome is not mine any more…" he was cut off by Inuyasha.

"SHE NEVER WAS!!" he spat at Kouga. 

"Yes, fine. She was never mine and she made that clear last time I saw her. After what she said, I realized that she and I would never have worked out anyway. I have no idea why, but she loves you and not me." He crossed his arms and scowled before continuing. "So I went back home for a while, and Ayame was there.  We have decided to become life mates, once we kill Naraku."

Ayame smiled happily. "It's true. So you don't have to worry about him trying to take Kagome from you. He is mine now." She held Kouga's arm tighter and continued to smile. 

Kouga also smiled as he looked into her eyes and then looked back at Inuyasha. "You don't have to believe me. I don't really care dogface, but Kagome told me she still wanted to be my friend even after what happened and I won't let her be hurt!"

Miroku stepped in between the growling demons and put one hand on each of their chests to separate them. "If you really want to help Kagome, then you would be much more help if you would come with us, instead of going on your own. You don't even know where to start looking. Her smell is nowhere to be found, and only Isane has a clue where to look next." He looked serious and annoyed.

"I don't need HIS help!" Inuyasha yelled. 

"You may not need his help, Inuyasha, but he wants to find her as much as we do. And we could use some help. We need as much help as we can get to fight Nakazo. We aren't in the best condition at the moment." He turned to look at Kouga. "Will you help us, Kouga? Do you think you two refrain from killing each other long enough to save Kagome?" Miroku desperately wanted to find Kagome; he knew they had a better chance of success with Kouga and Ayame helping them. 

Kouga looked at Ayame who nodded. "Fine but dog face over there had better keep his mouth shut!" Kouga said with a grin on his face.

Miroku was again holding the two apart and he sighed. 'This is going to be a long day.'

Kouga and Inuyasha continued yelling insults at each other until Sango come over to them. She was angrily grinding her teeth. "WE HAVE TO FIND KAGOME!! If you two are just going to stand there and fight, we will go on without you!!" Sango then turned away from them, and looked at Isane. Isane backed away a bit as she approached him. 

'She sure can be scary some times,' Isane thought as Sango continued to rant.  

 "This is unbelievable! Inuyasha won't let us rest for more than an hour, other than to sleep, but he can stand around and yell at Kouga all day!!" She was fuming. 

Inuyasha walked over to her slowly and put a hand on her shoulder. "You are right. We need to find Kagome. Kouga do you smell her at all?"

Kouga shook his head. "We have been in this area since yesterday and I had no idea she was nearby."

"Well, we aren't getting any closer to finding her just standing here! I may not be one of Kagome's close friends, like the rest of you, but I want to help her too. We need to go now, if we want to find her before dark. She can't be that far away, can she?" Ayame asked, then turned to walk away, abruptly stopping in her tracks. "Which direction should we head?" They all looked at each other and then glanced around at where they were. 

"Well, we have been heading this direction for a long time now," Miroku pointed out, while looking at the slightly calmer Sango.

Isane looked around at where he was and started to think. 'I know this place, but why?'

Everyone except Isane started to walk in the same direction they had been heading before the approach of the demons. Isane just stood still, deep in thought. Ayame noticed that he wasn't following, and turned around to look at him. "Is something wrong?" she asked, watching him for a moment. 

"I…think I know this place…but I can't remember why," Isane said, distantly, still in deep thought.  

Everyone else had stopped now to look at him. "WHO CARES IF YOU KNOW THIS PLACE?? We need to keep moving if we want to find Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, annoyed at being stopped again.

"Wait, Inuyasha, give him a minute.  Maybe he can tell us which way to go, if he knows this place." Miroku suggested. Sango was on Kirara, but Miroku was still with Kouga and Inuyasha on the ground, prepared to make sure they didn't attempt to fight again. 

"THAT'S IT!!" Isane yelled loudly and everyone looked at him as if he were crazy.

"What's it???" Inuyasha asked. 

"I know where they are! I know where he took Kagome!" Now he had Inuyasha's full attention.

Inuyasha walked up to him and was mere inches from his face. "You know where she is?" he asked calmly. "How do you know?"

"Well I knew this place looked familiar. When Nakazo and I were young we came here sometimes. It was far from his hut, but we came out here a few times with his mother looking for herbs and spices that could only be found here for some reason." Inuyasha was looking annoyed again, so Isane got on back on track. "The only place around here that would be hidden from everything is his old hut! He must have taken her there."

"You think he is stupid enough to take her somewhere that you know of that well?" Kouga asked looking annoyed as well. "Sounds like a trap to me."

"I don't think so. It is a very well hidden hut. Even though I was there many times, it will be hard to find. See his mother was trying to keep Nakazo away from Naraku so she did everything she could to hide from him. Once you get close to the hut, the scents are overpowered by the flowers of which there are an abundance nearby. Also there is a barrier up around the hut so you cannot see it. You must know where the hole in the barrier IS to get in. The whole thing is surrounded by trees, and it is deep in the woods. I think I can find it. There WILL be traps there and tricks to make you think that you are getting closer when you are not. His mother was amazing and could hide from any one. The fact that Naraku found us there is still unbelievable to me." Isane sighed. 

"Ok, so which way do we head and how far do you think it will be?" Ayame asked. 

Isane thought for a moment and then looked around. He pointed slightly to the right of the direction they had been heading. "This way. Though I think we have been going a little off course. It will be at least nightfall before we find him now. We may have to wait until morning to find her." 

Inuyasha looked determined. "Well then, let's go! We have to find her now!" he yelled, then started running without looking back to see if anyone was following him.

"WAIT! Inuyasha! We need Isane to lead or we may go father off course!" Miroku yelled, running after him.

Inuyasha stopped and turned around. "You better run fast Isane or you will have to deal with me!" He growled and showed his claws while baring his fangs. 

"I will run as fast as possible, Inuyasha. I want to find her as much as you do," Isane said.  Then he ran as fast as he could in front of Inuyasha, who was right on his heals. 'Wow, he is fast when he is worried about Kagome,' Isane thought.

They all ran as fast as they could now in hopes of finding Kagome before it was too late. The fighting between Kouga and Inuyasha had stopped, and they were all working together now.             

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was now late afternoon and Kagome was bored. She couldn't figure out why she had been brought there, or what Nakazo wanted to do to her. She sighed. 'I just want to go home.' Kagome stopped to realize that she no longer thought of her era as home. When she thought of home, Kagome now pictured Kaede's hut and Inuyasha. This thought brought a smile to her face. Thinking about Inuyasha was pretty much all there was to do there, and it made her feel a bit better. 

Suddenly she felt a chill go down her spine. 'What is that?' she thought to herself. 'Something is not right.' She looked around, and saw that Yuma must also have felt something, because she was now standing and looking off into the woods closely. 

"He is coming," Yuma said calmly and yet did not seem her normal bored self. She looked almost worried.

"Who is coming???" Kagome yelled, looking scared.

"Nakazo. He is coming for you." Yuma stated in a raspy voice that scared her even more.  

'Oh god. What do I do?' She was moving back toward the hut and was back up against a wall when she saw a shadow moving through the woods. She gasped. 

He laughed at her. "You are afraid of me," he stated as he walked closer. His calm voice was not making her feel any better.  Kagome could now see him completely and she didn't like that.

"I am not!" She yelled, though she was sure her shaky voice must have given her away. 'Inuyasha, where are you?? I need you!' She had never been so scared before, and all she wanted was Inuyasha there with her. 

Nakazo walked right up to her, putting his hand on her face and looking directly into her eyes. "You are afraid. I can smell fear all over you." He grinned evilly at her. "Don't worry little miko, it will all be over soon." He laughed at her. 

Yuma didn't look too happy. She was watching intently as she stood nearby. She wouldn't be any help and Kagome knew it. 

Kagome did the only thing she could think to do. She screamed as loudly as she could, all the while knowing it couldn't possibly help her. "INUYASHA!!!!!!!!!" 

Nakazo just laughed harder and louder. "This will be fun." He grinned.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The rescue party had all been running flat out for maybe an hour when Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks once again, but this time he fell to the ground writhing in pain. He held his head as if it hurt more than anything ever had before. 

Everyone looked at him "INUYASHA! Are you ok???" Sango yelled as she jumped down from Kirara to check on him.

"It's….it's Kagome!" He was stuttering in his anguish. 

'This can't be good,' everyone else all thought at once.

'It hurts. What the hell is happening to Kagome??' Inuyasha thought as he held his head in pain. "I don't know what is happening. I could hear her! She yelled my name. I can feel her. She is so scared. What the hell is that asshole doing to her???!! We have to find her NOW!" He got up despite the pain, and headed off once again in the direction they had been going. Everyone else followed closely, as Isane tried to get in front of Inuyasha to lead. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I am so sorry that it took me so long to update. Many things have been going on and I just didn't have the time to write. I will try and have the next chapter up soon. I promise it will be a good one! ^_^ 

Proof read by Bonnie217.


	13. Kagome's Fight

Chapter 13- Kagome's Fight 

I would like to dedicate this chapter to Chibi-Kerochan, because she leaves such great reviews and because she asked for a long chapter. I will do my best to give you guys a long chapter. This chapter is also dedicated to InuDemonGirl because she is cool.  

I am so sorry for taking so long to update. I do have reasons, though! Well, for a while I just wasn't sure how I wanted to go with this chapter, but I know now. Also, a problem had come up that made me not feel like writing for a while. I was a bit upset that someone else had taken a few of my chapters and used them in her story. Oh well.  

Well, anyway, here is what you have REALLY been waiting for (if any one is still reading) - on with the chapter! ENJOY!

**Last time…**

**_Kagome did the only thing she could think to do. She screamed as loudly as she could, all the while knowing it couldn't possibly help her. "INUYASHA!!!!!!!!!"_**

**_Nakazo just laughed harder and louder. "This will be fun." He grinned._**__

_======================_

**_The rescue party had all been running flat out for maybe an hour when Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks once again, but this time he fell to the ground writhing in pain. He held his head as if it hurt more than anything ever had before._**__

**_Everyone looked at him "INUYASHA! Are you ok???" Sango yelled as she jumped down from Kirara to check on him._**__

**_"It's….it's Kagome!" He was stuttering in his anguish._**

**_'This can't be good,' everyone else all thought at once_**_._

**_'It hurts. What the hell is happening to Kagome??' Inuyasha thought as he held his head in pain. "I don't know what is happening. I could hear her! She yelled my name. I can feel her. She is so scared. What the hell is that asshole doing to her???!! We have to find her NOW!" He got up despite the pain, and headed off once again in the direction they had been going. Everyone else followed closely, as Isane tried to get in front of Inuyasha to lead._**__

Nakazo stopped laughing and asked Kagome in a strange tone, "Why do you fear me? Have I hurt you in any way?"  Nakazo still looked amused.

"I AM NOT AFRAID! And you may not have hurt me but you DID hurt my friends!" Kagome spat at him. She was feeling less afraid and angrier by the second. She really didn't understand why she feared him so much.

"I did nothing to them until they tried to harm me. As for the demons that I brought with me, they were only a distraction. They did not kill anyone you hold dear." Nakazo looked deep into Kagome's eyes as he spoke.

'What is he trying to do? Why is he holding me here in the first place??' Kagome thought to herself as she listened intently to Nakazo. She tried to look away from his all knowing eyes but she couldn't. It was as if they were boring into her very soul and she hated that. "What do you want from me?" she asked now, sounding a bit scary herself, due to the rage that dripped from her voice.

"I merely want you to help me kill my father," he said in a tone that seemed to state the obvious. "Is it not something you wish to do anyway? Why not join me?" Nakazo smiled, but the smile didn't seem right on his face, and the total effect was just creepy.

"If that was all you wished, then why did you take me from my friends? Why not just ask for my help??" Kagome demanded an answer, more than asked.

"I knew you would not fight by my side, because Isane had already poisoned your minds against me." Nakazo said in a sad tone. His tone sounded phony to Kagome.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, confused.

"He was the one that had you poisoned. He is the one with friends that have that ability, not I." He sighed. "However, Isane got to you before I could warn you of him. I knew that if I showed up there, after HE did, that you would not trust me." Nakazo was now walking slowly past Kagome and toward his old home. She was happy for the break in eye contact.

"I don't believe you," Kagome said simply. Although she had spent only a short time with Isane, she trusted him.

He sighed again. "I knew you would not." Heading toward the entrance to the hut, he turned around once more to face her. "It was here that I lived with my mother. She was everything to me. It was over there," he pointed a short ways away "that my mother was killed right before my eyes. Will you not help me get my revenge? Do you not have your own reasons to want him dead?"

Now Kagome could see true sadness within him. She did want Naraku gone, but not the help of Nakazo. 'He is up to something, he has to be. It can't be the truth. Isane can't have lied to me!' she thought sadly.

"I will return you to your friends once you have helped me. I only need your miko powers in order to avenge my mother. She was only protecting me; she should not have been killed." Nakazo spoke softly and almost sweetly.

Kagome was so confused, she didn't know what to do. "If what you say is true, then take me to my friends and we will help you kill Naraku. Don't hold me here like this!"

"I cannot take that chance." Nakazo did not look happy. 'This is going to take a while,' he thought to himself.

"They won't hurt you if you take me back. We all want him dead!" Kagome was yelling now. 'If he just wanted to kill his father, then he would not have done it this way,' she thought.  Her mind was racing a mile a minute, and she didn't know what to do.

Yuma watched everything very closely. She knew why Nakazo wanted Kagome to help him. She knew why he would not take her back to her friends. Though he had not made his plans fully clear to her, she had known him long enough to get the idea. He wanted Kagome out of the picture.

'Once she helps him kill his father, he will turn on her. While she is still weakened from the battle against Naraku, he will kill her. He can't afford to let her live. She is the only one strong enough to kill Nakazo   - that is too big of a risk. Having her friends around would only complicate things. Once she is gone, they will be easy to kill also. He is smart, but he is not one to trust,' Yuma thought to herself, continuing to look on.

"I can't take you back now. They will not understand and Isane will never work with me. He hates me. He is working with Naraku against me." Nakazo said sounded upset.

This sounded false to Kagome. "You are lying." She said flatly as if she wasn't confused at all.

"Do you not believe me because I am Naraku's son? He may have sired me, but I am not my father, nor would I want to be." Nakazo did not like how this was going at all.

"That is not why I do not believe you. You killed Isane's life mate! Do you deny that?" She was not going to trust him. She couldn't.

"I do not. I did kill her. Though I had no choice." He said softly. "She was trying to kill me. I did not mean to kill her, but it was the only way. She hated me and wanted me dead. After that happened, Isane wanted me gone also. He is willing to do anything to make sure I am dead. He lied to you all in order to make you hate me." He looked away from Kagome and turned to look into Yuma's eyes, his back to Kagome. He grinned. Yuma did not seem to care, although she continually watched Kagome closely. He turned back to Kagome and watched her as closely as Yuma seemed to be.

'He is changing it all around. I wonder if she is foolish enough to fall for it?' Yuma thought darkly.

"NO! That is NOT how it happened! I don't believe you and I NEVER will!!!" Kagome screamed and started to glow a soft pink light for only a moment. Once it vanished, Kagome felt weak.  The effort it had taken to do such a small thing was unbelievable, but she now had a small bit of hope. 'Maybe I can get this scroll off of me. It would hurt a lot, but I think I might be able to. Though I wouldn't get far, even if I could get it off.' Her hope seemed to have failed once again. She breathed heavily.

Yuma looked at her shocked. 'She shouldn't be able to use ANY miko powers with the scroll on her!! How strong is this girl?!?'

'Interesting, she is more powerful then I thought. This approach will not work. Very well then, if she wants it the hard way that is fine with me.' Nakazo's grin grew wider as he watched Kagome try to calm down.

"YUMA, control her!" he shouted.

Yuma did as she was told without hesitation. Kagome screamed in pain as black energy surrounded her in unbelievable amounts. What Yuma had been doing to her previously to keep her from leaving, was as nothing compared to this.

"STOP THIS! PLEASE! Why are you doing this to me???" Kagome managed to get out through the pain.

"Because I can," he said flatly. Nakazo seemed to be enjoying her pain immensely.

'Inuyasha…' she thought before the pain was too great to think any more. Kagome, no longer able to bear the pain, passed out. The last thing she heard was Nakazo laughing at her.

Inuyasha was no longer in pain due to Kagome's emotions; however he could tell she was in a great amount of pain. Everyone was determined to find Kagome, and had not slowed down once since Inuyasha told them of Kagome's pain. More than an hour ago.

"How much farther do you think it is?" Inuyasha asked Isane as they ran side by side.

"We are moving faster then I thought we would. I think we should be coming up on the outer barrier in 2 hours at most. After that it should be easy enough to get to her," Isane answered, even though he seemed a bit short of breath.

Kouga listened to this and said "I can run faster than all of you. Tell me which way she is and I will get to her faster."

"Like hell you will!" Inuyasha yelled at him. He wasn't about to let Kouga get to her first.

"We have to do this together or we will never even make it to Kagome, let alone past Nakazo." Isane said dryly.

"FINE but you are slowing me down!" Kouga yelled.

Inuyasha growled and was about to say something else, when Miroku called down at them from on Kirara, "You know the more you yell at each other, the slower we go!" Inuyasha just sighed and tried to run faster.

Isane shook his head. "We stay together! No one goes ahead of me or you may fall into a trap. Miroku is correct, yelling is not going to get us there faster."

Miroku smiled at Isane; he liked the guy. Miroku held Sango tighter while being careful not to hurt her. "Are you feeling any better? Are you sure you will be able to fight with us?"

She turned around slightly so she could look into his eyes. "I will be fine. I have to help Kagome. I can't lose any one else," she replied sadly.

Miroku leaned closer to her ear and said softly, "I will never let that happen." Then he kissed her cheek lovingly.

Sango had tears in her eyes but did not let them fall. She leaned into his chest. "I am glad you are with me, Hentai," she said sweetly.

 Miroku put on an innocent face. "I may be a Hentai, but you are the only woman I wish to touch," he said smiling.

Sango loved when he was like this. She giggled despite the situation. "Sure I am," she said playfully. Then she kissed him on the lips. It was a short kiss, but it made them both feel a bit better. Miroku continued to hold her against him as they sat on Kirara's back, hoping to get to Kagome soon.

Inuyasha could hear Sango and Miroku clearly, despite the fact that they were speaking very softly. He sighed. 'I will find you soon Kagome and when I do, you better be alright!'

Kagome was slowly recovering consciousness. She heard chanting. It sounded like Yuma. Kagome turned her head away from the light that was coming in the window. 'I guess I wasn't out for long if the sun is still up. Unless it is tomorrow already, but that can't be right.' She couldn't think straight and her head hurt.

Kagome opened her eyes and saw that she was lying in the hut once again, on the floor. She looked to her right and saw the source of the chanting. It was indeed Yuma. She looked to her left and saw Nakazo watching her. She was hot, much too hot, and she was sweating. Kagome tried to get up, but she couldn't seem to move. She looked at her arms at her sides, but they were not tied down. Nor were her feet. 'Why can't I move!?' her mind screamed.

"Do not bother trying to get up. You will not be able to." Nakazo smiled evilly.

That smile made Kagome feel sick. 'He is enjoying this!! He is sick!' "Why can't I move??" she yelled.

"Yuma has placed a spell on you so that you will remain still until she is done with her task." He was still smiling.

Kagome could only move her head from side to side but it was enough to see that Yuma was up to something bad. "What is her task?" she asked coldly.

He laughed. "She is tainting your Shikon shards. Though you do not have many, it will be enough for my needs at this time."

"WHAT???" Kagome had already had one dark miko try this and it had not been fun, to say the least.

Suddenly Kagome felt a sharp pain in her chest. It was the jewel shards, but she still couldn't see them because of the scroll that was atop of the jar that held them.

"Do not worry little miko. It will only hurt for a little while." He was enjoying this far too much.

Yuma started to chant louder and Kagome screamed. Then everything stopped. Kagome's pain was gone. All noise in the room was gone. 'What is happening?' she wondered frantically.

"How do you feel now?" Nakazo asked.

To Kagome's surprise, she wasn't angry with him any more. In fact she felt strange. Something was seriously wrong. "Better," she said shortly.

"Then will you be good if I let you sit up?" he asked. 

"Yes," was her only reply. He smiled at her. 'Why am I being like this? What is wrong with me?' Kagome wondered.  She was no longer scared or worried. "Why do I feel like this?"

"My dark miko has tainted your shards and cast a dark spell over you. It feels nice, doesn't it?" Kagome nodded. "It's good to not care, isn't it?" She nodded once again.

Kagome no longer wanted to see Inuyasha. In fact she no longer cared about him or her friends. She didn't feel anything. "How is it possible?"

Yuma spoke this time, looking very tired. "It is a hard spell to master, but when used correctly, it can turn even the purest of hearts. Though yours was unusually hard to taint. Without your jewel shards being tainted as well, it would not have worked."

As Yuma talked, she released the holding spell on Kagome so that she could sit up. Kagome stood and looked around - everything was different. 'This isn't right. I know it's not, but it feels good. Why does it feel so good not to care about any thing?' she thought darkly. 

Yuma seemed almost disappointed with Kagome's reaction to the tainting spell. This would have confused Kagome had she cared enough to think about it. She walked out side the hut, not caring that Nakazo was still watching her closely.

"You will be by my side from now on," Nakazo said imperiously. "You are mine now." He looked at Kagome, who still did not seem to care about anything that was happening.

Kagome didn't really mind not being able to be sad or worried, but it still didn't feel right somehow. Nakazo turned Kagome around to face him and looked into her uncaring eyes. He loved the way her eyes looked at that moment. He grabbed her face and kissed her on the lips quickly and then pulled away to watch her. He grinned.

Kagome noticed what he did, but it was as if she were only watching it happen and not being the one he kissed. She looked at him blankly. 'I have to get away from him!' she thought distantly, but her body didn't seem to care.

Yuma watched this with a look of disgust. She did not seem happy about the whole thing, though she made no attempt to stop it.

"You are mine!" he laughed happily. "You will come with me and help me kill my father," he told her.

 Kagome nodded her head slowly. For some reason the thought of killing didn't sound too bad at the moment. 'What is wrong with me?!' Her thoughts seemed to be wandering; she didn't know why, nor did she care

"Once we kill my father, you will remain by my side. We will rule this world together. NO one will be able to stop us!" Nakazo was laughing loudly now, and he seemed to glow with dark energy.

'He wants her to be with him??' Yuma thought unhappily. 'Is he planning to leave me behind?' She didn't get much time to consider this development, when Nakazo said the worst thing he could have.

"Once my father is gone, we will kill Inuyasha and all those he travels with! He must die! They are the only ones that can stand in our way." Nakazo would have continued laughing, had it not been for the look on Kagome's face. It was no longer blank. It had emotion, strong emotion. She was angry.

"I WILL NOT HURT INUYASHA!!!!!!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. The rage she felt was far stronger than anything she had ever known. She wouldn't let anyone use her to hurt Inuyasha. "AND I WILL NOT LET YOU HURT HIM EITHER!!!"

"YUMA, control her!!!" Nakazo shouted. He could see that not only was the tainting not holding but her powers were starting to come back. 'It's not possible!'

Kagome screamed in pain once again from Yuma's dark energy, but it didn't seem as strong this time. Maybe it was because she was so mad. It didn't matter why, what mattered was that she could stand it. "I will never help you Nakazo! And I will NEVER be with you! You are disgusting!" she spat at him.

Nakazo looked angry. He looked scary as well but Kagome didn't back down. "YOU MAKE ME SICK!"

Nakazo's eyes turned red. "How dare you!?!" he screamed in a deep voice. "If you will not help me, then you will die!" He charged at her with his claws ready to strike.

Kagome managed to move out of the way, despite the pain. She tried to run away from them both, but the pain was still too much for her to move quickly enough. Nakazo sliced into her back with his claws. She screamed as the new pain hit her fully. She fell to her knees.

"You will help me, or you will die! CHOOSE!" He moved so that he was facing Kagome, then slapped her across the face when she did not answer. "Either way your beloved will die! Choose!!"

Kagome was in more pain then ever, but she refused to pass out. She knew Inuyasha would not be able to save her this time. It was all up to her. She had to get away. She knew how to do it but was she capable? 'I can do this! I have to be able! I won't let him win!!!' Her head hurt and her back was bleeding, but she still stood up slowly. Nakazo and Yuma watched her closely.

"I will choose," she said calmly, as if she were in no pain at all. She refused to look at either of them. Her eyes were closed tightly. This bothered Yuma, but Nakazo took it as a good sign.

'She will break. She will do as I wish; she has no choice,' he thought confidently. He grinned, thinking he had won.

Suddenly Kagome's eyes shot open, and she grabbed at the scroll on her chest. A blast of dark energy hit both Yuma and Nakazo, knocking them to the ground. They both looked up at Kagome in shock. Kagome was now holding the scroll in her hand.

Kagome's right hand, which she had used to remove the scroll, was bleeding badly. The dark power had burned and split open her hand. She was bleeding and she was in way too much pain, but she could now use her powers. And the shards were pure once again. She turned to Nakazo and looked at him with hatred.

"You will never be able to control me. And I will never let you hurt my friends, even if it costs me my life!" She dripped with a rage that she didn't know she had. Her eyes turned a lighter shade for a moment, almost a golden color. "I will make you pay for hurting them."

Nakazo didn't know what to do. His plans had failed. He had not thought anyone was powerful enough to do what she had just done. This worried him greatly. "Yuma!" he yelled.  Before he could continue, she was already up and trying to bind Kagome once again.

Yuma was afraid for her life at this point. If she failed Nakazo, he would hurt or even kill her. If she didn't control Kagome then, Yuma would most likely be killed by her. Yuma was using all the power she had at this point.

Kagome recognized the chanting and was able to use what power she had to stop the binding spell from being placed. She sent a blast of power at Yuma. Which knocked her into the very rock she loved to sit on. Yuma was out cold. 'One down, one to go," Kagome thought, though she knew it would not be that easy. Yuma had already been weakened from the spell she placed earlier, Nakazo wasn't.

"You may have been able to stop her. But you have yet to see my true powers! You cannot kill me alone, as injured as you are," Nakazo spat at her. He had gotten up already and was coming closer to her by the second.

"I don't have to kill you to get away from you!" Kagome yelled, then used all the miko powers she could muster. One blast sent him flying, much like the one she used on Yuma, only much stronger. He was bleeding from the burns and cuts the blast had caused. He was hurt, but far from down for the count. Nakazo was on his feet shortly.

Kagome ran as soon as she released her powers. She didn't even look back to see how hurt he was. She knew it wouldn't stop him for long, and ran for her life. Even though she was injured, she was still pretty fast. The demon blood in her seemed to become stronger the more hurt she became. She could not believe her own speed, though it was still not enough. Nakazo was still not far behind. 'I have to find Inuyasha!'

Kagome was running at top speed when she saw a barrier in front of her. She slowed down so she wouldn't hit it. 'Now what do I do?' she thought to herself. She used a trick Miroku had taught her and grabbed a few plants that were around her as fast as she could. She rubbed them on her to help cover her scent. Though he would be able to follow scent of her blood, at least it might confuse him a bit. She throw the blood covered plants in all directions and then run to the side in hopes of buying enough time to find a way through the barrier.

"That's it!!" Isane yelled pointing into the distance.

Miroku looked closely at where he pointed. He could feel the barrier more than see it. "Let's land and see if we can help them," he suggested to Sango, who nodded. Kirara landed near Inuyasha, Kouga and Isane. They jumped off of her quickly and ran to catch up with them. Ayame was a little behind the other guys, so Sango and Miroku were able to catch up with her first.

Isane was worried about traps now. They were close to the barrier and there were many traps near there. "Slow down!" he yelled, and they all did, but no one stopped. "Be ready for anything." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Suddenly they found many of the traps. Though most were nothing more then covered holes and things flying at them, some were harder to avoid. Isane was watching everyone and staying in the front so as to warn them of traps. Suddenly he yelled "DOWN!" They all quickly did as told, and they watched as knives and spears flew past their heads in all directions.

"Wow, that's a lot of traps!" Ayame said, somewhat out of breath. They all got up and started moving again after the knives ceased flying.

Then as they got closer, the traps became worse, and they were designed to draw attention to them by making noise. Inuyasha did not look happy. "Damn it! He is going to know we are here!" Inuyasha yelled, while avoiding different kinds of traps, fortunately more annoying than anything else.

"I can't help that. He has changed the traps around from the looks of it. I no longer know the safe way to travel." Isane said unhappily.

Sango was not doing well with all this running. Miroku was helping her as best he could, but if her wounds were to open up again, she would be not only be unable to fight, but she could even be killed. "Would it be better if we were on Kirara?" Sango asked Isane hopefully.

"No. He would see you for sure and you would be unable to fight him in the air," Isane stated, though he noticed that Sango was moving slower than normal. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes I will be fine," she lied. There wasn't much they could do for her anyway.

Miroku looked worried. He would have taken her onto his back. But that would have hurt her even more. Plus it would have made it harder to avoid traps. "How much farther?" he asked.

Just then Isane stopped, and everyone else did the same. "There it is, but I need to find the way in. It could take a while." Isane had pointed to the barrier that they could now see was only a few feet ahead of them.

"I am not waiting!" Inuyasha yelled, then pulled out Tetsusaiga, which turned blood red. "KAZE NO KIZU!!" he screamed.

The barrier fell and Inuyasha smiled at the stunned look on Isane's face. "That was amazing," Isane said as they ran forward.

"We still have a little farther to go before we reach the house, come on." He seemed to find an unknown reserve of energy to run faster than before.

'I am coming Kagome!' Inuyasha thought as he ran faster.

Kagome was running, trying desperately to find a hole in the barrier to get out. She didn't have enough energy to make one herself. Then out of nowhere, the barrier fell. She didn't know why and she didn't care. She ran faster than before, out into the forest trying to get away from Nakazo, who seemed to be gaining on her from the sound of it. She was so close to getting away and she wouldn't look back because if she did she might not make it.

Kagome was alone but she wouldn't let Nakazo win. With blood dripping from her body in several places she ran and did not stop.

Well that is chapter 13! Sorry again for it taking so long. Well review! Reviews always make me want to write more.

Thanks to Bonnie217 for proof-reading this chapter as always.


	14. Kagome’s Choice

**Chapter 14- Kagome's Choice**

I would like to dedicate this chapter to InuDemonGirl because she left the best review ever! I would also like to thank Inu Faceness because she also left a great review and because she is cool.  You guys are the best. Oh and I am VERY happy to say that I got over 100 reviews on !! YAY! You have no idea how happy that makes me. It was Echo that left the 100th review, so thank you too! Well on with the story. I know you are all dying to see what happens next!

**_Last time…_**

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**_Kagome was running, trying desperately to find a hole in the barrier to get out. She didn't have enough energy to make one herself. Then out of nowhere, the barrier fell. She didn't know why and she didn't care. She ran faster than before, out into the forest trying to get away from Nakazo, who seemed to be gaining on her from the sound of it. She was so close to getting away and she wouldn't look back because if she did she might not make it. _**

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**_Kagome was alone but she wouldn't let Nakazo win. With blood dripping from her body in several places she ran and did not stop._**

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**………………………………………………………….. ******

Kagome ran as fast as she could despite the pain she was in. She seemed to have a only a small lead on Nakazo now. Kagome stopped abruptly when a knife flew past her head. 'Traps?' she wondered. 'Great - one more thing to worry about' she thought sadly.

Nakazo knew where all the traps were and was able to avoid them easily. He had lost time because he was injured and because her scent was covered well. Even though Kagome was making it hard on him, Nakazo was still not far behind her. He did not intend to stop until he killed her. 'If she will not help me then she will die' he thought darkly.

Kagome was having trouble avoiding the traps, but she was doing ok. Her wounds were slowing her slightly, but she was still moving far faster then a normal human would have been able to.

As Kagome got farther away from the hut and the broken barrier, she saw less and less traps. 'I can't give up now. I am so close to getting away!' she told herself, hoping to gain more strength.

Suddenly, Kagome slowed a bit. She heard something unusual. It sounded like humming, a little girl humming. Oddly, it sounded to Kagome like Sesshoumaru's charge, Rin.  As she got closer, she saw that it was indeed Rin who was humming - humming and picking flowers happily. 'That must mean that Sesshoumaru is near by, but I don't see him,' Kagome thought worriedly.  As she moved closer, she could see that Jaken was not far behind Rin.  He appeared very bored while leaning on a tree. When he heard Kagome running toward them, Jaken looked up at her. He quickly jumped in front of Rin, as if to protect her.

'Sesshoumaru must not be nearby if Jaken is acting that way. Oh no, that means Rin could be in danger if Nakazo sees her.' Thinking quickly, before Jaken could even speak, Kagome changed directions and ran the other way. 'I will lead him away from them,' she thought worriedly. Though Sesshoumaru was still her enemy, Rin was not. Kagome and Inuyasha had not even fought with Sesshoumaru in a long while. He didn't seem to care about them either way, as if they were mere bugs – a minor annoyance.

Kagome continued to run as fast as she could in the opposite direction of Rin and Jaken, until she heard the girl scream from behind her. 'Oh no.' She stopped running and looked back to where she had left the two. Kagome could faintly hear Jaken crying, "Put her down! Lord Sesshoumaru will kill you for this!"

At his words, Kagome's stomach felt as if it had just taken a plunge off a tall building, leaving her behind. 'He has Rin, ' she thought worriedly. Kagome veered once again and ran back towards the young girl. What she saw when she got there upset her greatly. Nakazo was holding Rin by her neck. She seemed to be in pain and Kagome could already see bruises forming there.  Jaken was trying to free her from Nakazo's grasp, screaming the whole time about how his lord would make Nakazo pay.

"Ah, Kagome. I see you have come to join in our fun." Nakazo had a wicked smile on his face, as if he knew he had just beaten her.

"Let her go, Nakazo! Do you even know who that is? That is Sesshoumaru's charge. When he finds out what you are doing he will kill you for sure!" Kagome yelled, without fear for herself.

"I know very well who she is, and it doesn't matter. Sesshoumaru cannot hurt me." He laughed as Jaken tried to attack him. He flicked Jaken away as if he were no more than an annoying insect.

 "How dare you speak of my Lord that way?! You cannot hurt the great Sesshoumaru! He will kill you for sure," Jaken yelled. He was angered but the way Nakazo was talking about the great Sesshoumaru. And ever more upset by his treatment of Rin 'Lord Sesshoumaru will kill _me_ for sure if I don't save her!'

"I do not care about your lord," Nakazo stated coldly, looking at the small demon.  Then he turned back to Kagome and smiled. "Make a choice, Kagome." His smile once again became the wicked one he held earlier that stated clearly, 'I have already won'.

"Let her go, Nakazo. It's me you want."

"Oh? So then you will come with me to kill Naraku?" Nakazo asked with a smirk.

"Never!" she yelled hotly.

"Either you give your Shikon shards to me and agree to help me, or she dies. Choose now." Nakazo knew he had her now. 'She will not let the girl suffer for her. She is mine now'

Kagome didn't know what to do. She was hurt and tired. She was alone, and she knew that she couldn't stop Nakazo on her own. 'I can't let him hurt her.'

"Do you think I am stupid?" Kagome decided to keep Nakazo talking, while she tried to think of what to do. Nakazo's evil grin faded slightly. "I know that once I kill Naraku, you won't just let me leave. What is it you plan to do once he is dead?" Kagome asked with bravado.

Nakazo laughed grotesquely. "You are right. I won't let you go once he is dead. I will kill you. Then I will use the jewel to increase my power so that no one will be able to stop me again. I will be the strongest demon to ever live!" He grinned, increasing his grip on Rin's neck. "But. if you do not help me." he then lifted Rin off the ground by her throat, "she will die. Can you live knowing she died for you?" Nakazo watched Kagome closely.

"You make me sick! I will never give you the jewel!" Kagome shouted.

"Very well then, she dies." He drew a sword from the belt on his hip with his right hand, while still holding Rin with his left.

"NO!!" Kagome screamed loudly.

"Then make your choice. Give me the 2 shards you have, and agree to help me, or she dies horribly and I will still take your shards. Either way I win. CHOOSE!" Nakazo yelled, sure he already knew her answer.

**……………………………………………………… **

Inuyasha and company had finally made it to the hut, only to find that Kagome was not there. "SHIT!" Inuyasha yelled, since he smelled her blood everywhere.

Kouga looked around sadly at all the blood and knew most of it was Kagome's. "She must be hurt badly, but it looks like she tried to get away," Kouga stated, then put an arm around Ayame who appeared very upset.

Sango held a hand over her mouth at the sight of blood all over the outside of the hut and some inside as well. Miroku held her tight. "We have to find her now!" Sango yelled, sounding heartbroken and fearing the worst. 'All this blood' she thought.  Can Kagome still live?'

They heard a noise not far from the hut entrance and saw a woman attempting to stand up next to a large rock. She seemed hurt, but not badly. Miroku looked at her with hatred. He knew who she was.

"You are the one that bound Kagome's powers! You are with Nakazo. Where is he and what happened to Kagome?" Miroku asked in a demanding voice. Sango was somewhat surprised by the strength he seemed to possess.

Yuma looked up at them unhappily. She knew what had occurred, but did not know whether she should tell them or make a break for it. She decided that it couldn't hurt to tell them. "Kagome would not help Nakazo.  I was unable to keep her tainted for long. Nakazo was not happy with this and tried to kill her. He gouged her back with his claws and hurt her pretty badly. Kagome was able to remove the binding spell somehow, though she hurt herself in the process. After she removed the spell, she hit us with her powers and ran off - that way." She pointed out the direction Kagome and Nakazo had gone. "They did not leave here long ago; if you hurry, you should be able to catch up with them." Yuma's tone of voice was so flat that she might have been telling them how to cook fish. She no longer seemed to care what happened one way or the other.

Inuyasha didn't know if he should stay there and take the time to kill the one who took Kagome away in the first place, or go after Kagome and Nakazo. He decided he would do both, but killing Yuma could wait. "You will die for hurting Kagome," he said darkly.

"That may be so, but it won't be by your hands. Or at least not today." She smiled slightly, and then crossed her arms over her chest and began chanting something. Inuyasha ran toward her to attack, but was thrown back by a blast of power and when he looked up, she was gone. "Damn, she got away."

Sango looked worried. "Do we trust what she said and go that way?" she asked, while holding her bleeding side.

"We don't have to trust her. Inuyasha and I can follow her scent. I can smell her blood coming from the direction she pointed," Kouga said, sounding stern and worried. He no longer seemed to want to fight with Inuyasha. He only wanted to help Kagome and kill Nakazo.

"Let's go!" Inuyasha yelled, and they all ran toward Kagome's scent. 'We are coming, Kagome, just hang on.'

Yuma watched the group from high in a tree at a safe distance away. She had covered her scent and was watching with interest. 'I wonder if she was able to get away from Nakazo. If not, then she may already be dead. Nakazo will not be happy with me for letting her get away. Maybe I should hide out for a bit until he has calmed down.' She jumped down from the tree and fled.

****

**………………………………………………………………….**

Kagome wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she couldn't let Rin be killed. "Fine," she said coldly. "But you let her go first. You have my word I will help you."

"Give me your shards, and I will let her go," Nakazo said, confident that she had no other choice in the end.

Kagome gave him an evil glare, that would have scared even the strongest men, but it didn't faze Nakazo. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it. Kagome took off her necklace and threw it at his feet.

Nakazo dropped Rin hard on the ground. She clutched her throat and coughed loudly. Jaken ran to her side, turned looking back at Kagome, who had just offered her life for Rin's, then turned toward Nakazo. "Lord Sesshoumaru will kill you f…" Jaken never got to finish his sentence. Nakazo raised his sword and stabbed him through the heart. As Jaken fell to the ground, Rin cried out with so much pain in her voice that Kagome's heart ached.

"How could you?! I told you I would help you!" Kagome yelled at Nakazo. Though she hadn't liked Jaken much, she didn't want him to be killed. Rin appeared to care for him a great deal.

"I told you I would not hurt the girl if you helped me. I said nothing about HIM." Nakazo pointed to the now dead servant of Sesshoumaru. Nakazo laughed nastily, then picked up the jar with the shards in it and moved toward Kagome, ignoring the crying girl at his feet. Kagome looked sick.

Kagome lifted her hand toward Nakazo. 'I will kill him if it's the last thing I do,' Kagome thought. She was ready to release more of her miko powers on him. Though she hadn't been able to stop him previously, it seemed as if she had done some damage. He did look hurt and he was bleeding.

Kagome sent out her powers toward him hoping that he would be killed or at least hurt badly. This time he seemed to know what she was doing. He moved so fast that Kagome only saw a blur and then felt him holding her tightly from behind. "Now, now little miko. You wouldn't want me to kill the girl, now would you?" He looked toward Rin, who couldn't seem to breathe because of her choked sobs.

Kagome shook her head. "No. Leave her alone. I said I would come with you and I will," Her cold voice sounded more like Kikyo's than her own. That thought scared her somewhat, but she let it pass.

Nakazo smiled. He was in pain from her earlier attack, but he recover quickly. 'I must attack Naraku soon or she may not survive until the battle with all of her injuries. All she has to do is hit him with her arrows, and I'll be able to take care of the rest' He grinned evilly, then threw back his head. Roaring his laughter to the skies.

Rin looked up at them threw her tears. "Lord Sesshoumaru will kill you for this!!" Rin shouted, finishing Jaken's last sentence for him. Kagome was surprised by this, but only looked on sadly as Nakazo held her in place.

Suddenly Nakazo turned back in the direction of the hut. "Damn," he growled, looking unhappy.

Kagome smiled. She could smell it also. It was Inuyasha and all her friends. They were coming for her and they were close too. "INUYASHA!!!!" She shouted as loudly as she could. Rin turned to look, but said nothing.

**……………………………………………………………………….**

Inuyasha could smell Kagome and Nakazo. They were close, so close. He was almost there and then he heard her. "INUYASHA!!!!" Everyone seemed to move faster hearing this. Inuyasha called back, worried for her. "KAGOME!!"

Kouga moved faster than the rest now, trying to get to her as quickly as he could. For once Inuyasha didn't seem to mind his eagerness to help Kagome. Inuyasha didn't care how she was saved at this point, as long as she was ok. Kouga no longer wanted to win Kagome's heart, but the thought of her being hurt was too much for him. He ran, knowing Inuyasha didn't mind it this time. He just hoped that they were in time. Kagome sounded scared and the smell of blood was overpowering.

Sango held her side in pain while running, though she was past caring about the pain. They were so close; they couldn't lose Kagome now. She looked ahead.  In the distance, she was now able to see Kagome, and was shocked to see Rin there as well. As she got closer, Sango could see that Rin was covered in blood, as were Kagome and Nakazo. The scene in front of her was something out of one of her worst nightmares. She cried out for Kagome as Inuyasha had, and moved as rapidly as she could. Miroku was right beside her and his strength helped keep her going.

**……………………………………………………………………….**

Kagome heard Inuyasha call out her name, with Sango shortly thereafter. As they got closer, Kagome could see Kouga was in the lead by a short distance. He ran toward them, trying to free Kagome from Nakazo's grasp.

Kouga charged at Nakazo, who merely jumped away, taking Kagome with him. He threw a blast of dark energy at Kouga and sent him flying back. Inuyasha, directly behind Kouga, caught him and stood him up "You alright?" he asked quickly. Kouga nodded, and they both turned to Nakazo.

Kagome might have thought that Kouga and Inuyasha working together without fighting was odd, had it not been for the fact that she was in too much pain to think. The wounds on her back were still bleeding and the more Nakazo jumped with her in his arms the worse they became. She would not last much longer if she didn't stop the bleeding. Everything was starting to fade in and out.

"Let her go now!!" Inuyasha yelled while holding Tetsusaiga tightly. "I will kill you for hurting Kagome!" He saw that she was not just bleeding, but that she was covered with blood. Nakazo also looked to be hurt, most likely from Kagome's attack, but looking at the ground quickly Inuyasha saw that some of the blood on Nakazo and all of the blood that seemed to be on Rin was Jaken's. He first noticed Rin then, as well. He could tell Jaken was dead, and he knew his brother would not take this lightly.

"I will do no such thing." Nakazo snickered at them, then moved back slightly. Inuyasha quickly moved forward to stop him from getting away. "Kagome is mine, and there is nothing you can do to stop me." Inuyasha ran at Nakazo as Kouga had done, except that when Nakazo tried to attack Inuyasha with his dark energy, Inuyasha used Tetsusaiga's sheath to block the attack.

Inuyasha smiled as he managed to avoid the attack and then moved in to attack Nakazo with his sword and free Kagome. But as he approached, Inuyasha was knocked away hard by a barrier. "INUYAHSA!" Kagome yelled as he was thrown away.

Nakazo laughed. "It won't be that easy to kill me, hanyou." Nakazo started to rise off the ground with Kagome in his arms. "You can't stop me." He smiled nastily, and prepared to send a much bigger blast of power at Inuyasha. Kagome saw this and even though she was in a great deal of pain, she knew she could not let Inuyasha be hurt.

Kagome had previously noticed that Nakazo had both his long sword and a short sword at his side at all times. Without giving it moment's thought, since Nakazo was already distracted, Kagome grabbed the short sword from its sheath and stabbed him in the shoulder, sending purifying power through it as well. Nakazo dropped Kagome and held his shoulder in pain. "YOU BITCH!" he yelled at her angrily.

Kagome winced in pain as she fell, but she never hit the ground. Inuyasha caught her and looked into her eyes for a moment. He wanted to hold her and never let go, but he had to fight now. He placed Kagome on the ground softly and turned to Nakazo, who was ready to fight to the death, regardless of his wounds. Everyone prepared to fight with everything they had.

Isane looked at Nakazo with hate in his eyes, but he said nothing. He stood near Miroku ready to protect Kagome.

"You will pay for this! If I cannot kill you little miko, then I will take the lives of all those that you love! I will make you pay! I don't care how long it takes, you will pay!" Nakazo was glowing with dark power. "You don't have any idea what I am capable of!" Inuyasha hit Nakazo's barrier with his sword as he yelled, but it didn't break the barrier.

Miroku watched the battle at hand. Sango ran to Kagome's side to help her. "His power seems to increase the angrier he gets. Watch out Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled, looking serious.

"Are you ok?" Sango asked Kagome as she helped her stand.

"I will be now that all of you are here." Kagome smiled despite the pain, holding onto Sango, who hugged her back, nearly forgetting the battle going on close by. Sango was so relieved to see Kagome that she seemed to forget her own pain. They both turned to look at Inuyasha, Kouga by his side. Ayame was with Miroku and Isane nearby ready to fight with them.

"You can not beat me!" Nakazo spat at them darkly.

Miroku now stood in front of the others. "I will not let you get away with what you have done to Kagome! You will not get away!" Miroku held up his hand and was about to use his Kazaana when Nakazo laughed and held up the jar with the jewel shards.

"Suck me into that hole in your hand monk, and you will never complete the jewel!" Nakazo smiled craftily.

"Damn, I can't use my Kazaana if he has the shards." Miroku put his hand down and looked up at Nakazo.

"You can never kill me. You do not know what you are dealing with. You will all die!" Nakazo proclaimed, then threw a blast of dark power at them.

Everyone ran to hide from the blast, and fortunately, no one was hit by it. Nakazo then laughed loudly, opened his arms wide, and, from within his body, hundreds of demons emerged.

"Shit!" Inuyasha was not happy about this.

Inuyasha and Kouga immediately moved toward the demons, in hopes of keeping the others safe. Miroku and Isane were not far behind them. They stood in front of all three women, who were clustered together. Ayame positioned herself in front of Kagome and Sango, because she knew they were too hurt to fight.

Rin had grabbed Jaken and dragged him to the side during Nakazo's earlier attack. She wanted to keep him safe, even if he was dead. She watched them, while holding on to Jaken tightly. They seemed to have forgotten about her completely.

Inuyasha began to attack as the demons came closer to him. "Kaze no Kizu!!!" he shouted, and commenced killing the demons, but the supply seemed never ending.

Kouga leapt into the air, kicking and punching as many demons as he could get to without interfering with Inuyasha's attacks. Kouga turned toward Inuyasha and saw a rather large demon closing in on Inuyasha fast from the side. Inuyasha turned toward the demon, but couldn't move quickly enough.  Kouga could see that Inuyasha was going to be hit by it. Kouga jumped into the air, and pushed Inuyasha to the ground, just before the snakelike demon hit him. Inuyasha looked at Kouga for a second, and then said quickly, "there are too many of them." They turned to see still more demons coming at them. Miroku and Ayame were fighting behind them to protect Kagome and Sango. Both Kagome and Sango were in too much pain to give much help in the fight against the demons.  Sango was using her Hiraikotsu whenever absolutely necessary, but the use of her weapon left her drastically enervated. Isane was now in his panther form attacking demons beside Kirara in the air.

Kagome wanted to help, but she had neither bow nor arrows. Kagome wasn't sure she could use them anyway, with her hand the way it was. She noticed now that Sango was in great pain. "Sango, are you ok?" Kagome asked, worriedly.

"I will be fine, Kagome. Don't worry," Sango said, hoping that it was the truth. Miroku, listening, didn't seem to believe her, and he decided that he had to kill the demons more quickly, so he could help Sango.

"Stand back! I am going to use my Kazaana on them. Nakazo may have the jewel shards, but they don't!" Miroku yelled, pushing Ayame behind him. Inuyasha and Kouga moved out of the way, so Miroku could take care of the demons.

"KAZAANA!!" he yelled, sucking in as many demons as he could, before Nakazo jumped in the way, holding up the small jar with the jewel shards in it. Miroku closed his Kazaana right away, so that he wouldn't suck in the jewel shards. "Damn, Inuyasha, you will have to take care of the rest," Miroku stated, looking unhappy.

"Not a problem!" Inuyasha said.  He was grinning for the first time since Kagome had been taken from him, though it was an evil looking grin. Kouga was by his side, helping to kill the remaining demons.

As they fought, Nakazo sent out more demons to kill them, but there seemed to be less this time. A very ugly demon managed to get behind Kagome and Sango and was about to kill them both when Ayame turned around and whipped razor sharp leaves at the demon. It fell to the ground dead, and she turned to Kagome and asked, "Are you ok?"

Kagome nodded, and continued to watch the fight that she could not join. Now Sango was openly showing how hurt she was. She could barely stand anymore, so Kagome and Sango were using each other as props. Holding each other up and hoping they would not fall to the ground, they watched as Inuyasha used Tetsusaiga on the last of the demons.

Isane and Kirara landed near Sango and Kagome and Isane turned back into his human form. "Are you both all right?"

They nodded and turned to watch Nakazo.

Inuyasha looked up at Nakazo, who was still floating above them, with a barrier around himself. He looked so much like Naraku at that moment. Nakazo looked unhappy, but unfortunately, he did not look scared in the least.

"This fight is far from over, but it will have to wait for another day." Nakazo said in a dark tone. Then he threw another blast of black energy at them. They all ran as they had before, but this time when they looked up, he was gone.

Isane looked on sadly. "He got away," he stated unhappily. "But we now have Kagome back with us, we will find him again soon. He can't have gotten far." He turned to Kagome and Sango, and watched as Inuyasha ran to them.

Inuyasha had only been hurt a bit from the demons, but he did seem tired. "Kagome, are you alright??" He sounded scared and she could tell that he was. She hugged him as tightly as she could, without hurting herself farther.

"My back…it's bleeding badly and my hand…" She looked at her hand sadly. It hurt and she was afraid that it would scar; she might not be able to use her bow and arrows right away either.  "But I am alright, now that you are with me." She smiled weakly and held him tightly.

"Thank god," he said, then gave her a kiss on the lips, not caring who saw them. He didn't ever want to let go of her again.

Rin watched them from a distance, still holding onto Jaken's dead body. 'At least Kagome will be all right,' she thought distantly. She was now carrying his body, although he was too heavy for her, she did not care. She had to find Sesshoumaru.

The group all surrounded Inuyasha and Kagome. They were all so happy that Kagome was all right.  None of them wanted to even think about the fact that the jewel shards were now gone. Miroku held Sango and smiled as he watched Inuyasha and Kagome happily.

"Come on, we need to stop the bleeding," Kouga said, with no sign of wanting to start a fight over the scene before him. This made Ayame happy, and her smile brightened. Kagome nodded, and Inuyasha let her go for the moment.

Inuyasha looked back to where Nakazo had stood a short while ago, and said in a venomous voice, "Nakazo was right, this fight is far from over."

**………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..**

Well that chapter 14 and it was a hard one for me to write for some reason so tell me if you liked it because I am not sure about the ending of this chapter. Well this story is not over yet and there is still a big fight to look forward to! See ya soon!

Thanks to Bonnie 217 as always.


	15. The return of Kagome

**Chapter 15 – The return of Kagome **

_This chapter has been reposted with a note at the end for my fans. _

**…………….**

**_Last time _**

**_Inuyasha had only been hurt a bit from the demons, but he did seem tired. "Kagome, are you alright?" He sounded scared and she could tell that he was. She hugged him as tightly as she could, without hurting herself farther._**

**_"My back…it's bleeding badly and my hand…" She looked at her hand sadly. It hurt and she was afraid that it would scar; she might not be able to use her bow and arrows right away either. "But I am alright, now that you are with me." She smiled weakly and held him tightly._**

**_"Thank god," he said, then gave her a kiss on the lips, not caring who saw them. He didn't ever want to let go of her again._**

**_Rin watched them from a distance, still holding onto Jaken's dead body. 'At least Kagome will be all right,' she thought distantly. She was now carrying his body, although he was too heavy for her, she did not care. She had to find Sesshoumaru._**

**_The group surrounded Inuyasha and Kagome. They were all so happy that Kagome was all right. None of them wanted to even think about the fact that the jewel shards were now gone. Miroku held Sango and smiled as he watched Inuyasha and Kagome happily._**

**_"Come on, we need to stop the bleeding," Kouga said, with no sign of wanting to start a fight over the scene before him. This made Ayame happy, and her smile brightened. Kagome nodded, and Inuyasha let her go for the moment._**

**_Inuyasha looked back to where Nakazo had stood a short while ago, and said in a venomous voice, "Nakazo was right, this fight is far from over."_**

**……………………………………………………………………………..**

Kagome was so happy to be back in Inuyasha's arms that she almost forgot about everyone else. She looked around at her friends, who appeared happy to have her back, but each one seemed to be hurt. She looked at Sango, in Miroku's arms, looked beyond them toward Isane, who seemed to be healing from the stab wound he had received not long ago.

'Thank god they're alright; even if they're hurt; at least we are together,' Kagome thought, smiling. Then Kagome remembered that it wasn't just her friends that fought with Nakazo. "Oh my god! Where are Rin and Jaken?" Kagome burst out.

Everyone looked around for the girl, but she was nowhere to be found. 'I can't believe we forgot about her! I hope she is ok,' Kagome thought, becoming more and more upset.

Inuyasha, holding Kagome close, could tell how upset she had become. "She went off in that direction with Jaken," Inuyasha said, after sniffing the area briefly. "She must be looking for Sesshoumaru."

Sango looked upset and held Miroku tighter. "We have to go after her, and make sure she is ok."

Kouga stepped toward Sango and Miroku. "If I were you, I would worry about myself, right now," he commented, nodding at her wounds.

Ayame nodded and said, "You ARE hurt Sango, and Kagome doesn't look as if she can go running after anyone right now. I am sure that Sesshoumaru is nearby, and will find Rin before she can be hurt by anyone."

"What if Nakazo gets her before she finds Sesshoumaru!" Kagome yelled, before Sango could say a word.

Isane sighed and moved toward Kagome "Nakazo is far too injured to go after her now. Besides he has no use for her. I am sure she will be fine. Kouga and Ayame are right, we need to help you and Sango, before we run off after anyone else." Kagome sighed, looking very unhappy, but she was in too much pain to argue further with them.

Inuyasha, who had remained quiet throughout the conversation, said, "We need to take care of you right now, Kagome. Sesshoumaru will have to worry about Rin for the time being." He knew that Kagome wasn't happy about it, but that she couldn't fight anymore. Kagome looked as if she would collapse any second. Inuyasha picked her up in his arms, saying, "Let's get out of here before more demons show up" The others nodded to him and headed in the direction of Kaede's village.

Sango and Miroku mounted Kirara carefully, trying not to hurt Sango any more then she already was. Miroku looked at Inuyasha and said, "We won't be able to go far before we have to stop. If we don't stop Kagome and Sango's bleeding, they will die."

"I know that, monk," Inuyasha said, as Kagome ripped a piece off her uniform to wrap around her hand to stop the bleeding. "Are you sure you will be ok for now?" he whispered softly to Kagome. She nodded, and they all began to pick up their pace, although they weren't capable of their previous speeds.

Kagome was surprised that Kouga and Inuyasha had not argued once since they found her. Kouga also seemed to be remaining very close to Ayame, which made her smile. 'Maybe he has finally moved on,' Kagome thought happily.

**………………………………………………………….**

Sesshoumaru walked through the forest, toward the glade where he had left Rin in Jaken's care. He stopped walking for a moment when he smelled Jaken's blood. Sesshoumaru changed direction, heading to the new scent, also picking up the faint odor of Rin and her tears. Though his face showed no real emotion, his body language made it evident that he wasn't happy.

After a short time, he came across Rin dragging Jaken's body, tears streaming down her face. She was having trouble dragging him because he was so heavy, but she determinedly maintained a rapid pace. She stopped moving when she saw Sesshoumaru, putting Jaken down and running toward him. "Lord Sesshoumaru!" she cried, as she hugged his leg.

Sesshoumaru didn't return her hug, but made no attempt to dissuade her from hugging him. After a brief moment of closeness, he looked down at the girl and said coldly, "Stand back" She did as she was told, crying. He pulled Tenseiga out of its sheath and looked at Jaken closely. He swung his sword quickly through Jaken, then stood still, waiting for Jaken to stand.

After a few seconds, Jaken took a sharp breath. He stood up shakily and looked at his master. "What happened?" he asked of no one in particular.

"That is what I would like to know," Sesshoumaru stated coldly. Jaken jumped at this, and bowed before his lord.

"I am sorry, my lord. I was not able to protect Rin! Please forgive me," Jaken groveled. Rin stopped crying as soon as Sesshoumaru returned Jaken to the living. She ran to him and tried to hug him, even as he was begging for his life. "Don't touch me human!" Jaken screamed, as he watched Sesshoumaru from the corner of his eyes.

"Rin is glad that Jaken is all better!" she said happily. She was oblivious to his disdain. Jaken just sighed.

"You will tell me what happened." Sesshoumaru repeated, with a bit of impatience in his voice.

Jaken continued to bow at Sesshoumaru's feet, once Rin let go of him. "Of course, my Lord!"

"The nice lady, Kagome, saved Rin's life!" Rin burst out, before Jaken could continue. Jaken then told Sesshoumaru all that had happened, or at least what he recalled of the incident. Rin filled in the rest for him, or at least everything that occurred while she was there. Rin had heard Kagome say the demon's name, but she didn't know much more about him, other than what she had seen.

"I see," was all Sesshoumaru said, before walking away. Rin followed after him quickly, smiling. Jaken stood still for a second, blinking his eyes, then shouted, "Hey wait for me!" and ran after them.

'Why would she give up the jewel shards for Rin? And who is this Nakazo?' Sesshoumaru wondered to himself while walking toward the battle scene Rin had just described. 'This demon knows who I am, yet he attacked them anyway, without fear of me. A fool that will have to be dealt with.'

**+l**

Yuma walked briskly through the woods, trying to get as far away from Nakazo's wrath as possible. She sighed. 'I know he got away from them, because I can still sense his aura. His aura is angry, so I don't think he was able to take Kagome with him. He will not be happy with me. But, I did everything I could to control her! She is just too strong for me.' Yuma sighed once more, deeply. 'It would have been easier for everyone if they had just killed Nakazo.' She stopped walking when she came to a lake and sat at the edge of the water. "My life sucks," she commented to the wind.

"Would you rather be dead?" a deep and angry voice asked from behind her.

Yuma jumped and stood up. "How did you find me so fast, Nakazo?" she flung at him.

"I always know where you are and what you are doing. Did you forget that?" he asked, moving closer to her. "What went wrong? Why weren't you able to control her?" Nakazo began to glow with dark energy.

Yuma put up her hands to block him from her and said, " She is too strong! There was nothing I could do to hold her. You underestimated her," she burst out angrily.

"Perhaps if you had come to my aid instead of running away when you woke up, I would have had her right now." Nakazo moved closer to her, still glowing.

"You have it wrong, Nakazo, when I woke up the others were already coming for you, and my powers were far too drained to do anything worthwhile. I could not have helped you. If I had come, I would have been killed," Yuma stated, taking a step backwards to get further away from Nakazo, forgetting that there was a lake behind her. She took another step back and fell into the water.

Yuma came up sputtering. Although the part she had fallen into wasn't very deep, she was now soaking wet. She looked up into Nakazo's eyes, and was shocked to see him laughing at her. "You are useless," he said, shaking his head, then turned from her and sat down. He took two jewel shards and placed them in his body. He put one in the inside of his right wrist. Then placed the other in his left wrist. He could feel the power of the shards healing him. He grinned evilly.

Yuma got out of the water and looked at him. "Are you sure it's a good idea to use those shards?" She did not get an answer, nor did she really expect one as she sat beside Nakazo. Nakazo was still hurt and tired, but he was healing quickly.

Nakazo stared at his wrists where the shards he had taken from Kagome were inserted. 'I will make you and all those you care about suffer for hurting me,' he thought darkly.

"You aren't mad at me?" Yuma asked changing the subject.

"I am, and you will make up for your failure later, but for now we must rest and regain our strength. Then we will make them pay." Nakazo stared into her eyes, smiling his evil smile.

Yuma sighed. "As you wish," she replied sadly.

Nakazo placed a barrier around them so no one could smell or see them. Then he moved to sit with his back to a tree a short distance from Yuma.

**……………………………………………………………………………………+**

The gang had been moving toward Kaede's for about half an hour, but they had covered quite a distance before they felt safe. Inuyasha stopped running and looked at Kagome in his arms. She had just passed out from loss of blood. Looking at Sango, Inuyasha could see that she was in similar shape. He slowly placed Kagome on the ground. "Kagome?" he whispered, looking at her still form.

"Is she alright?" Ayame asked, stopping next to Inuyasha. Kouga also eyed Kagome, but said nothing. Isane was again in his panther form, stopping near Kagome as well, looking at her sadly.

"We need to stop here, bandage everyone, and rest awhile. If we keep moving, both Kagome and Sango will die," Inuyasha said, brushing Kagome's hair out of her eyes. The others nodded and Miroku helped Sango off Kirara. Then he removed Kagome's bag from Kirara and started taking out supplies.

Isane turned back into his humanoid form and looked around the area to make sure it was safe to stop there. "You will need water to clean their wounds and for them to drink. There is none here for them. Perhaps we should keep moving," Isane said, while watching Inuyasha and Kagome.

Miroku stopped him and said, "Kagome has bottles in her bag that carry water. There are two here with water in them already, so we should be ok for now. There are two more, though, that you could fill, if you find a water source near by. Wait while we use all the water we have, though before you go. We need to stay close together as long as we can," Isane nodded to him and waited for them to empty the water bottles.

Miroku was helping Sango bandage herself after she removed the old bloody ones. Inuyasha used one of Kagome's water bottles to clean off the wound on her back, then her hand. Inuyasha couldn't help but wince when he saw the claw marks on Kagome's back. They were deep and looked to be painful. Inuyasha was angry, but he knew he didn't have time for anger right now. He needed instead, to help Kagome, so he tried to focus on helping her and not on how she got hurt. 'I WILL kill that bastard soon,' Inuyasha thought angrily.

Once Miroku was done helping Sango, he pulled out Kagome and Sango's sleeping bags, putting one down for Sango and leaving the other near Inuyasha. "Will you be staying with us tonight?" Miroku asked Kouga and Ayame. They looked at each other and nodded. Neither one was hurt badly, so they were able to stand guard.

Inuyasha didn't say a word to anyone as he watched over Kagome. He picked her up and placed her gently into her sleeping bag.

"Good, we can use all the help we can get right now. If Nakazo came to attack us right now, and you weren't with us, I don't think we could win." Miroku smiled briefly at Kouga and Ayame, who again just nodded. Ayame started to make a fire while Kouga checked around the area for any threats.

Miroku stared into Sango's eyes as she sat on the sleeping bag, attempting to look at the last of her wounds. "Thank you for helping me," she said with a small smile.

"You know I would do anything for you Sango. How are you feeling?" Miroku asked, keeping his hands under control for her sake.

"I will be fine. I am more worried about Kagome. She was hurt pretty badly." Sango started to frown. "I don't know what that jerk did to her but it must have been bad. The thought of Kagome alone with Nakazo makes my skin crawl." Miroku looked at Kagome and frowned deeply. "I want to ask her what happened, but I know she needs to rest right now, so it can wait. At least she is back with us now. I will never let him hurt her again!" Sango declared vehemently.

Miroku put his arm around Sango; she laid her head on his shoulder and relaxed a bit. "It's going to be ok, Sango. I won't let any thing happen to either of you." Miroku's voice was soft and loving; the sentiment made Sango feel much better.

Isane sat down next to Kirara and sighed. "Are you hurt?" he asked the fire cat. She shook her head no. Isane smiled at her, while petting her head. She was now in her smaller form, sitting not far from Sango and Miroku.

'When I saw Nakazo, there were so many things I wanted to say to him. But I just couldn't. We were so close once. Why does it have to be like this?' Isane sighed deeply. Kirara meowed at him softly, to comfort him. He smiled and then turned his attention to the others, while continuing to pet her.

Once Ayame was done making the fire, she walked over to Kouga, who was still watching out for any threats. "You sure are quiet," she stated softly.

"I don't like having to stop this close to where we just fought Nakazo. He could be nearby watching us," Kouga said seriously.

Ayame nodded her head and said, "You are right, but I don't think he will attack so soon. He will need to rest also." She smiled as Kouga relaxed slightly. "You know, you and Inuyasha fought pretty well together, today."

Kouga shrugged at this comment, then replied in a soft voice, "It wasn't so bad, fighting alongside them. Maybe if we all work together, we can find Naraku faster and end this war." Kouga then spoke louder, boasting, "I mean, there is no way that dogface will ever be able to kill Naraku on his own. I will be the one to kill him, but some help wouldn't hurt."

Ayame sighed. "You know for a second there, I thought you had changed." She giggled slightly.

"You want me to change?" Kouga asked, looking hurt. She only giggled some more and he sighed.

Inuyasha heard them but wasn't really paying any attention. He was concentrating on listening to Kagome as she moaned slightly in pain.

Kagome slowly opened her eyes and looked right into Inuyasha's golden gaze. She smiled and seemed to forget all the pain as she brought her mouth to his softly. "Don't leave me," she pleaded, as Inuyasha made motions to get up.

"Never," he replied, then moved to sit behind her, putting her head in his lap. This was something he didn't do often. Inuyasha smiled down at her, "How are you feeling?"

"A little better. I heal faster then I used to, but I was hurt pretty badly. I will be better soon, thanks to you," Kagome said with a small smile.

Sango saw that Kagome was awake and smiled at Miroku, who also looked over at the couple and smiled. Ayame and Kouga also noticed that Kagome was awake and they looked at her as well. Everyone was happy that she was back with them.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that we are very glad to have you back Lady Kagome," Miroku said in a formal yet happy voice. Everyone nodded in response to his comment and smiled.

Kagome looked at Miroku and Sango sitting close by and smiled. "Thank you everyone. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up when you did. I didn't have any more strength to fight him."

Sango started to cry, saying, "You know that we will always be there for you, just as you are for us. I am just sorry that we didn't get there sooner." Miroku held Sango tighter to keep her from running to Kagome and injuring herself further.

"It's not your fault Sango. There was nothing you could have done. I am ok now and that's what matters," Kagome said sweetly. Kagome wanted to run to Sango and hold her close, because of the sad look on her face. But she was too injured to get up right then. She and Sango would have to be satisfied with their men holding them instead.

Isane was somewhat distant from the group, but he could still see everything that was going on. He stood up and said, "I need to refill the bottles with water now. I smell a large body of water, probably a lake; it's not far, in that direction. I am happy that you are back with your friends, Kagome. I will return shortly." He ran off before she could reply.

Kagome sighed. 'Does he feel left out?' she wondered sadly. 'He said, "I am happy that you are back with your friends, Kagome." But he made it sound as if he didn't think he was one of them. I wonder what happened while I was away. So many things seem to have changed in such a short time.' She looked at Inuyasha who seemed to be confused by her emotions. She giggled a bit at the look on his face.

"I think I will take a nap. I am so tired." Kagome said, covering up a yawn.

"I think we could all use some rest, Kagome." Miroku said, looking at Sango who was about to fall asleep in his arms. He smiled. 'She is so beautiful,' he thought, gazing down at her.

**Sorry that I have not updated in so long! I have been having some problems but I hope to update soon. I do have a winner for my contest (which ended ****8/14/04****). I loved the response I received from everyone who sent in a character. They were all great! **

**I have not forgotten this story, I _WILL_ finish it. I also wanted to thank everyone for their encouraging reviews. I love you all! The reviews really make me want to continue this story. If you want to read more about what has been going on check out my web page. http/ angelheart21220 .tripod. com/ (remove the spaces).**


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